Joint Action, Interactive Alignment, and Dialog

TLDR

Dialog aims to align interlocutors’ mental representations through joint activity that includes linguistic choices and nonlinguistic coordination such as posture and speech rate, with a focus on close coupling at lower levels. The study defines dialog as a joint action across multiple levels and argues that its mechanisms involve covert imitation of communicative behavior, leading to emulation of expected behavior. The authors propose that covert imitation of interlocutors’ communicative behavior underlies dialog, enabling emulation of expected behavior. Examples show that imitation and entrainment are pronounced during interactive communication, illustrating predictive emulation that supports successful joint activity.

Abstract

Abstract Dialog is a joint action at different levels. At the highest level, the goal of interlocutors is to align their mental representations. This emerges from joint activity at lower levels, both concerned with linguistic decisions (e.g., choice of words) and nonlinguistic processes (e.g., alignment of posture or speech rate). Because of the high‐level goal, the interlocutors are particularly concerned with close coupling at these lower levels. As we illustrate with examples, this means that imitation and entrainment are particularly pronounced during interactive communication. We then argue that the mechanisms underlying such processes involve covert imitation of interlocutors’ communicative behavior, leading to emulation of their expected behavior. In other words, communication provides a very good example of predictive emulation, in a way that leads to successful joint activity.