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A small group of hand gestures made during conversation (interactive gestures) seem to function solely to assist the process of dialogue rather than to convey topical information. The rate of interactive gestures was significantly higher when 27 dyads talked in dialogue than in sequential monologues, whereas the rate of other (topical) gestures did not change; this difference supports the theory that interactive gestures are uniquely affected by the requirements of dialogue. A second, microanalytic study tested hypotheses about the specific functions of interactive gestures by examining the responses of the person to whom the gesture was addressed. Predictions were correct for 78 of 88 gestures sampled randomly from a large database. These results support the conclusion that interactive gestures are an important means by which speakers can include their addressees in the conversation. Moreover, these gestures demonstrate the importance of social (dialogic) processes in language use.

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Motor mimicry is behavior by an observer that is appropriate to the situation of the other person, for example, wincing at the other's injury or ducking when the other does. Traditional theories of motor mimicry view this behauior as an indicator ofa vicarious cognitive or empathic experience, that is, of taking the role ofthe other or of"fee1ingoneselfinto"the other person. However, Bavelas, Black, Lemery, andMullett (1986) have shown that motor mimicry ofpain is affected by communicative variables and acts as a nonverbal message indicating that the observer is aware of and concerned about the other's situation. This raises a more general question: Is communication its primary or secondary junction? We propose (i) that motor mimicry functions as a nonverbal, analogk, relationship message about similarity between observer and other and (ii) that this message is encoded according to Gestalt principles of form, in that the observer physically mirrors the other. In other words, the observer maintains a relationship with the other. The special case of left/right leaning when observer and other are facing each other permits a test of our theory against two theories that treat motor Janet Beavin Bavelas (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1970) is professor of psychology at the (Mathematics) helped us settle on the terms for reflection and rotation symmetry; Oak Bay Recreational Centre permitted us to use their premises; and two HCR reviewers provided useful comments on the manuscript. Order of authors is alphabetical. o 1988 International Communication Association 275 276 HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH / Spring 1988 mimicry as an indicator of vicarious experience. The results of three experiments showed that when motor mimicy by an observerfacing someone who is leaning left or right occurs, it is both displayed and decoded in theform consistent with a communication theory; this form is called reflection symmetry. We conclude that, because of the topography of the response, the primayfunction of motor mimicry must be communicative and that any relationship to vicarious processes is secondary.A similar analysis of other nonverbal behaviors may well reveal that they are also expressions another person rather than expressions of intrapsychic states.