Social functioning in older adults with high levels of off-target verbosity

TL;DRAbstract

This study examined social behaviour and social relations among older adults who exhibited high levels of Off-Target Verbosity (OTV), a conversational style that is characterized by an abundance of unfocussed speech. It was hypothesized that such individuals would tend to exhibit socially maladaptive behaviour and that the pattern of excessive and unfocussed speech would have a negative effect on their maintenance and development of social relationships. Findings showed that during "get acquainted" conversations with previously unfamiliar age-matched peers, high OTV individuals showed a greater tendency to dominate conversational talk time and tended to ask fewer questions of their conversational partners, relative to "normal" talkers. After "getting acquainted" with their conversational partners, subjects were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the conversation. Those with higher levels of OTV and those who talked for a greater share of the conversation were rated as less

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