The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers

Holly P. Branigan, Martin J. Pickering, Jamie Pearson, Janet F. McLean, Ash Brown

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Five experiments examined the extent to which speakers’ alignment (i.e., convergence) on words in dialog is mediated by beliefs about their interlocutor. To do this, we told participants that they were interacting with another person or a computer in a task in which they alternated between selecting pictures that matched their ‘partner’s’ descriptions and naming pictures themselves (though in reality all responses were scripted). In both text- and speech-based dialog, participants tended to repeat their partner’s choice of referring expression. However, they showed a stronger tendency to align with ‘computer’ than with ‘human’ partners, and with computers that were presented as less capable than with computers that were presented as more capable. The tendency to align therefore appears to be mediated by beliefs, with the relevant beliefs relating to an interlocutor’s perceived communicative capacity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-57
Number of pages17
JournalCognition
Volume121
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2011

Fingerprint

dialogue
evidence
choice of partner
human being
Alignment
experiment
Interlocutors

Cite this

Branigan, Holly P. ; Pickering, Martin J. ; Pearson, Jamie ; McLean, Janet F. ; Brown, Ash. / The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers. In: Cognition. 2011 ; Vol. 121, No. 1. pp. 41-57.
@article{1c418c58ed8f4eb4a0bc4c59a103dab1,
title = "The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers",
abstract = "Five experiments examined the extent to which speakers’ alignment (i.e., convergence) on words in dialog is mediated by beliefs about their interlocutor. To do this, we told participants that they were interacting with another person or a computer in a task in which they alternated between selecting pictures that matched their ‘partner’s’ descriptions and naming pictures themselves (though in reality all responses were scripted). In both text- and speech-based dialog, participants tended to repeat their partner’s choice of referring expression. However, they showed a stronger tendency to align with ‘computer’ than with ‘human’ partners, and with computers that were presented as less capable than with computers that were presented as more capable. The tendency to align therefore appears to be mediated by beliefs, with the relevant beliefs relating to an interlocutor’s perceived communicative capacity.",
author = "Branigan, {Holly P.} and Pickering, {Martin J.} and Jamie Pearson and McLean, {Janet F.} and Ash Brown",
year = "2011",
month = "10",
doi = "10.1016/j.cognition.2011.05.011",
language = "English",
volume = "121",
pages = "41--57",
journal = "Cognition",
issn = "0010-0277",
publisher = "Elsevier",
number = "1",

}

Branigan, HP, Pickering, MJ, Pearson, J, McLean, JF & Brown, A 2011, 'The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers', Cognition, vol. 121, no. 1, pp. 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.05.011

The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers. / Branigan, Holly P.; Pickering, Martin J.; Pearson, Jamie; McLean, Janet F.; Brown, Ash.

In: Cognition, Vol. 121, No. 1, 10.2011, p. 41-57.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers

AU - Branigan, Holly P.

AU - Pickering, Martin J.

AU - Pearson, Jamie

AU - McLean, Janet F.

AU - Brown, Ash

PY - 2011/10

Y1 - 2011/10

N2 - Five experiments examined the extent to which speakers’ alignment (i.e., convergence) on words in dialog is mediated by beliefs about their interlocutor. To do this, we told participants that they were interacting with another person or a computer in a task in which they alternated between selecting pictures that matched their ‘partner’s’ descriptions and naming pictures themselves (though in reality all responses were scripted). In both text- and speech-based dialog, participants tended to repeat their partner’s choice of referring expression. However, they showed a stronger tendency to align with ‘computer’ than with ‘human’ partners, and with computers that were presented as less capable than with computers that were presented as more capable. The tendency to align therefore appears to be mediated by beliefs, with the relevant beliefs relating to an interlocutor’s perceived communicative capacity.

AB - Five experiments examined the extent to which speakers’ alignment (i.e., convergence) on words in dialog is mediated by beliefs about their interlocutor. To do this, we told participants that they were interacting with another person or a computer in a task in which they alternated between selecting pictures that matched their ‘partner’s’ descriptions and naming pictures themselves (though in reality all responses were scripted). In both text- and speech-based dialog, participants tended to repeat their partner’s choice of referring expression. However, they showed a stronger tendency to align with ‘computer’ than with ‘human’ partners, and with computers that were presented as less capable than with computers that were presented as more capable. The tendency to align therefore appears to be mediated by beliefs, with the relevant beliefs relating to an interlocutor’s perceived communicative capacity.

U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.05.011

DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.05.011

M3 - Article

VL - 121

SP - 41

EP - 57

JO - Cognition

JF - Cognition

SN - 0010-0277

IS - 1

ER -

Branigan HP, Pickering MJ, Pearson J, McLean JF, Brown A. The role of beliefs in lexical alignment: evidence from dialogs with humans and computers. Cognition. 2011 Oct;121(1):41-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.05.011

Access to Document