How People Coordinate Attention During Conversation
Author Information
Author(s): Lucas Haraped, Stefan E. Huber, Walter F. Bischof, Alan Kingstone
Primary Institution: Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Hypothesis
Does differential background knowledge lead to asymmetries in attentional coupling during conversation?
Conclusion
The study found that while trained participants spoke and pointed more, gaze coupling remained symmetric, with momentary speakers leading attention during conversational turns.
Supporting Evidence
- Trained participants spoke longer than untrained participants.
- Trained participants pointed more than untrained participants.
- Gaze coupling was symmetric regardless of training.
- Momentary speakers led the dyad's joint focus of attention.
Takeaway
When people talk together, they often look at the same things at the same time, but the person who is speaking usually leads where everyone is looking.
Methodology
Participants completed a visual sorting task while wearing mobile eye trackers, and their gaze and pointing behaviors were analyzed using Cross Recurrence Quantification Analysis.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the exclusion of participants with non-normal vision and technical failures.
Limitations
The study only included male participants, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
Sixty male, first-year undergraduate psychology students from the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI [2.59, 3.75]
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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