Despite the general acknowledgment that communication is a process rather than a condition, there has been little systematic examination of dynamic processes within the context of communication studies. Dynamic Patterns in Communication Processes looks at these processes within the field as a whole, drawing from many unexplored connections within the discipline. Using data rather than simulation this work discusses the most timely topics in communication today. The first part of the book focuses on the methodological and theoretical significance of communication events or states that vary regularly or in some distinct pattern over time. The second part is a compilation of current theories and research based on the ideas of cycling and dynamic patterns that occur in diverse communication settings. Scholars and professionals in mass communication and interpersonal communication will appreciate the way this volume addresses topics relevant to both fields. Those in research methods, organizational communication, and psychology will also value the insights this book has to offer.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: SOME IDEAS AND SPECULATIONS A Partial Map to a Wide Territory - C Arthur VanLear and James H Watt Communication Process Approaches and Models - C Arthur VanLear Patterns, Cycles, and Dynamic Coordination Sequentiality, Simultaneity, and Synchronicity in Human Communication - Peter R Monge and Michael E Kalman PART TWO: SOME TOOLS FOR TIME Indexing Pattern over Time - Robert B Arundale Criteria for Studying Communication as a Dynamic Process Dynamic Systems in Continuous Audience Response Measures - Mark Douglas West and Frank A Biocca Localized Autocorrelation Diagnostic Statistic (LADS) for Time-Series Models - Clifford Nass and Youngme Moon Conceptualization, Computation, and Utilization Analyzing Cyclical Effects in Experimental Designs - James H Watt Cellular Automata as Models of Unintended Consequences of Organizational Communication - Steven R Corman PART THREE: SOME EXEMPLARY USES OF TIME The Emergence of Shared Interpretations in Organizations - Noshir S Contractor and Susan J Grant A Self-Organizing Systems Perspective Predicting Television Viewing - George A Barnett and Sung Ho Cho Cycles, the Weather, and Social Events Attention Span Cycles - Jeanne M Meadowcroft Cybernetics of Attitudes and Decisions - Stan A Kaplowitz and Edward L Fink Dynamics of Speech Processes in Dyadic Interaction - Eugene H Buder Coordinated Cycles in Behavior and Physiology during Face-to-Face Social Interactions - Rebecca M Warner Dynamic Coordination of Vocal and Kinesic Behavior in Dyadic Interaction - Joseph N Cappella Methods, Problems, and Interpersonal Outcomes