WK7 L13: Turn-Taking Part 1

• What is thought to be unique to humans?

  Language
• Why is language considered a fundamental part of the human experience?

  Because it is essential for communication and social interaction
• What do we know about how language emerged?

  Very little
• What aspects need to be explored to understand how language emerged?

  • Brain function and cognitive evolution
  • Structure and use of language
  • Differences between early and modern language
  • Comparison with other communication systems
  • Changes in hominid biology
  • Language acquisition during development
  • Interaction of learning, culture, and evolution
• What is the main function of language according to Chomsky?

  Cognitive function
• Why is cross-disciplinary collaboration important in studying language emergence?

  It allows exploration of various aspects requiring different expertise
• How did language emerge according to the cognitive view?

  Rapidly due to a brain change allowing certain structures
• What does Tomasello argue about the main function of language?

  It is communicative
• How are language structures inherited according to the cognitive view?

  They are biologically inherited
• How are language structures learned according to Tomasello?

  They are socially learned
• How long did it take for language structures to emerge?

  Over a long period of time
• What is a key argument for the cognitive view of language acquisition?

  Children everywhere learn to speak with a 100% success rate
• What is interactive communication?

  Communication where information flows two ways between individuals
• How does social interaction affect language use?

  It influences how language is used
• What is the role of interaction in cognitive development and language learning?

  It is fundamental
• What is reciprocity in interaction?

  Expectation that attempts to establish social interaction will be reciprocated
• What does the still face paradigm demonstrate?

  Infants expect social interaction to be reciprocated
• According to Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory, what role does social interaction play?

  It plays a fundamental role in cognitive development and learning
• How does social interaction contribute to language acquisition?

  It is crucial for language acquisition
• What does the interactionist theory of language acquisition state?

  Language use affects and is affected by social interaction
• What were the findings of the speed dating study by Ireland et al. (2011)?

  • Higher linguistic style matching (LSM) predicted higher likelihood of relationship initiation
  • LSM measures stylistic similarity in function word usage
  • Correlation does not imply causation
• What is the joint perceptual oddball task in Fusaroli et al. (2014)?

  Participants identify the interval in which an oddball appeared and communicate to reach a joint decision
• What is linguistic alignment in Fusaroli et al. (2014)?

  It refers to shared linguistic expressions between participants during a task
• What does turn-taking refer to in conversation?

  The back-and-forth of conversational interactions
• Why is turn-taking considered interesting in psychology of language?

  It presents a puzzle regarding how speakers manage timing and transitions
• What are implicit rules of turn-taking?

  Unwritten guidelines that govern who talks and when
• What happens when the current speaker selects the next speaker?

  The current speaker indicates who will speak next
• What is the norm in conversations regarding speakers?

  One person speaking at a time
• How long is the typical silence between turns in conversation?

  0 to 0.2 seconds
• What is the puzzle of turn-taking in conversation?

  How speakers manage to plan utterances while listening and transitioning
• What does EEG evidence show about speech acts?

  We can identify speech acts quickly, within 400ms of the start of a turn
• What did Boiteau et al. (2014) find about language production and comprehension?

  Language production is more demanding than comprehension
• What happens to performance in a visuomotor task during conversation?

  Performance deteriorates when transitioning from listening to speaking
• What are the key points in the summary regarding language emergence and social interaction?

  • Language is key to social interaction
  • Interaction is fundamental for cognitive development and language learning
  • Turn-taking has implicit rules about timing and speaker selection
  • Short timing between turns is consistent across languages
  • Conversation demands attention and planning