AUTHOR=Bietti Lucas M., Bietti Federico U.

TITLE=The Interactive Functions of Questions in Embodied Collaborative Work

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.704275

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.704275

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Researchers have been interested in the investigation of the interactive functions of questions in conversational contexts. However, limited research has been conducted on the interactive functions of questions in embodied collaborative work, that is, work that involves the manipulation of physical objects. This study aimed to identify the interactive functions of questions in embodied collaborative work. To do so, we conducted a systematic qualitative analysis of a dataset of 1,751 question-answer sequences collected from an experimental study where pairs of participants (<italic>N</italic> = 67) completed a collaborative food preparation task. The qualitative analysis enabled us to identify three functions of questions: <italic>anticipation questions</italic>, <italic>exploration questions</italic>, and <italic>confirmation questions</italic>. We have discussed in this study how the types of questions identified are associated with: (i) the accomplishment of interactional goals and (ii) complementary temporalities in the collaborative activities.</p>