TY - JOUR

T1 - Modulating action duration to establish non-conventional communication

AU - Vesper, Cordula

AU - Schmitz, Laura

AU - Knoblich, Günther

PY - 2017/12

Y1 - 2017/12

N2 - In many joint actions, knowledge about the precise task to be performed is distributed asymmetrically such that one person has information that another person lacks. In such situations, interpersonal coordination can be achieved if the knowledgeable person modulates basic parameters of her goal-directed actions in a way that provides relevant information to the co-actor with incomplete task knowledge. Whereas such sensorimotor communication has frequently been shown for spatial parameters like movement amplitude, little is known about how co-actors use temporal parameters of their actions to establish communication. The current study investigated whether systematic modulations of action duration provide a sufficient basis for communication. The results of three experiments demonstrate that knowledgeable actors spontaneously and systematically adjusted the duration of their actions to communicate task-relevant information if the naïve co-actor could not access this information in other ways. The clearer the communicative signal was the higher was the benefit for the co-actor’s performance. Moreover, we provide evidence that knowledgeable actors have a preference to separate instrumental from communicative aspects of their action. Together, our findings suggest that generating and perceiving systematic deviations from the predicted duration of a goal-directed action can establish non-conventionalized forms of communication during joint action.

AB - In many joint actions, knowledge about the precise task to be performed is distributed asymmetrically such that one person has information that another person lacks. In such situations, interpersonal coordination can be achieved if the knowledgeable person modulates basic parameters of her goal-directed actions in a way that provides relevant information to the co-actor with incomplete task knowledge. Whereas such sensorimotor communication has frequently been shown for spatial parameters like movement amplitude, little is known about how co-actors use temporal parameters of their actions to establish communication. The current study investigated whether systematic modulations of action duration provide a sufficient basis for communication. The results of three experiments demonstrate that knowledgeable actors spontaneously and systematically adjusted the duration of their actions to communicate task-relevant information if the naïve co-actor could not access this information in other ways. The clearer the communicative signal was the higher was the benefit for the co-actor’s performance. Moreover, we provide evidence that knowledgeable actors have a preference to separate instrumental from communicative aspects of their action. Together, our findings suggest that generating and perceiving systematic deviations from the predicted duration of a goal-directed action can establish non-conventionalized forms of communication during joint action.

KW - Social Cognition

KW - Joint Action

KW - Cooperation

KW - Coordination Strategy

KW - Sensorimotor Communication

U2 - 10.1037/xge0000379

DO - 10.1037/xge0000379

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29251985

VL - 146

SP - 1722

EP - 1737

JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

SN - 0096-3445

IS - 12

ER -