The temporal organisation of leaning in social interaction

Kristian Mortensen*, Hazel Spencer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

EMCA research has documented how the moving human body is a core resource for sense-making. This means that people engaged in interaction are constantly foraging for materials from which to fashion their contributions (Goodwin, 2018). Co-participants, in turn, are faced with a set of raw materials being mobilised and potentially used as resources for sense-making. In this paper, we focus on a particular bodily movement, learning forward. The unsupported lean is temporally organized and bringing the body off balance projects that the lean will be resolved. The study uses video-data from a range of institutional settings to explore how a leaning body is treated as indexing a range of social actions. We discuss this as having emerged from the human capacity to stand upright, and a shared knowledge of the additional exertion required to counteract gravitational forces when bringing the upper body off its vertical axis.
Original languageEnglish
JournalSocial Interaction. Video-Based Studies of Human Sociality
Volume7
Issue number4
ISSN2446-3620
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

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