When two humans interact, they often mirror each other's behavior. While discussing a work of art, their eye movements and gestures may become similar or even synchronize. When conversing face to face, they may adjust to facial expressions and gestures of their conversational partner. In addition, they may carefully adapt their sentences to the shared world that each can see. Therefore when two people interact, to some extent they become one "coupled" system. Like a couple dancing, they adjust their behavior in response to their partner. This research will explore how and when two people can be conceived as one dynamic, coupled system. An interdisciplinary team, consisting of two psychologists, a computer scientist, and a philosopher, will develop experiments and computer simulations to find new ways of understanding this "mirroring" and "adapting" that people seem to do while communicating.
Theories of human communication often emphasize strong coupling or, as a default, its absence. This work will supplement such theories by seeking a systematic middle ground based in cognitive mechanisms. How does facilitating memory and attention foster coupling between speakers? Humans can be made to adapt effectively to each other if the conditions are just right, and less often otherwise. The findings from this research could suggest ways of redesigning task environments to facilitate communication between partners. These tasks are common in everyday life, from sharing a computer screen during interaction, navigation, and even educational contexts in which tutors and students discuss visual or other information. The project could help two people couple more strongly, thus helping task partners avoid vagueness and ambiguity, and enhance the efficiency of their communication.
