PerDiAb

During dialogue, each interlocutor relies on a mental representation of their partner to adjust their discourse in an attempt to reach mutual comprehension. For instance, interlocutors make different referential choices depending on what they believe to be easily understandable to their current partner. This suggests that the representation of the partner includes information about the partner’s (estimated) knowledge. However, very few studies have sought to examine what other kind of information is included in such representation. The goal of this project is to demonstrate that the representation of the partner also includes information about the latter’s (perceived) ability to contribute to the interaction. We will conduct 6 experiments. Each experiment will be divided in three parts, and will be performed by two people (either two naïve participants, or one naïve participant and a confederate). In the 1st part, we will assess some of the participants’ characteristics which could impact their ability to contribute to the interaction (including their mentalising ability, creativity, and any language impairments they might experience). In the 2nd part, the two people will engage in dialogue. Finally, in the 3rd part, each participant will assess their partner’s mentalising ability and creativity. We will examine if the participants’ collaborative behaviour during the dialogue depends not only on each participant’s own ability to contribute to the interaction, but also on their partner’s perceived ability to contribute to the interaction. If the latter predicts the amount of collaboration observed during dialogue, we will be able to conclude that each participant relies on a representation of their partner’s ability to contribute to the interaction to guide their own behaviour during the interaction. This project will thus contribute to a better understanding of how mental representations of others’ abilities contribute to dialogue success.