Passivity or tacit collaboration: Mazahua interaction in cultural context

This article presents a descriptive analysis of Mexican Mazahua mother-child and child-child interactions observed in small family groups in a market setting. The interactions presented involve passive behavior by one of the participants. This behavior can be described in reference to the Mesoamerican sociocultural context that informs the culturally specific meanings shared by those interacting. In the case of Mazahuas, “tacit collaboration” may be a more accurate label than “passive” for this way of participating in interaction. This research suggests that a culturally specific perspective on interactional behavior can provide a less normative position from which to study non Western interactional teaching and learning practices.