Research on interactive styles: Findings, issues and some future trends

Abstract

The experimental research carried out in the field of interactive styles is reviewed, based on the theoretical proposal of Ribes and Sánchez (1990) and Ribes (1990b), since the first work published to date. In this account, the empirical knowledge that has been produced in seventeen research papers written as articles or postgraduate theses is identified, to have a global appreciation of the progress in this field: What have been the purposes, methodological strategies, problems and limitations that have been faced and what possible future trends are glimpsed. It is concluded that the experimental results demonstrate intra-subject consistencies as a function of individual history, however, in some studies, certain participants do not show intra-individual consistency, which are not explained by the authors. The implementation of procedural controls and variations in the contingency structures to be studied is suggested, as well as in the measurement parameters and characteristics of the participants under study. The need to increase experimental production, particularly of the little styles researched, is also pointed out as criteria to guide future research in this field.