This study analyzed a detailed videotaped conversation to examine human interactions. The results of the analysis suggest that “being videotaped” not only restrains the participants’ behavior but was also treated as a resource to develop the interaction. In some segments of the data, the participants paid attention to, or referred directly to, aspects of the environment around them, such as the camera. This finding suggests that the participants were aware that the activity they were engaged in was being videotaped and, hence, that it differed from the preceding activity. In other segments, the participants deduced the experimental problem from the assigned task and jointly constructed to solve it. This suggests that an assigned task may not only constrain the participant but also can be utilized as a potential resource.
