Yes / Young children often struggle with referential communications because they fail to compare all valid referents. In two studies, we investigated this comparison process. In Study 1, 4- to 7-year-olds (N=114) were asked to categorize pairs of objects according to their similarities or differences, and then identified a unique quality of one of the objects by responding to a referential question. Children found it easier to judge the differences between objects than similarities. Correct judgments of differences predicted accurate identifications. In Study 2, 4- to 5-year-olds (N=36) again categorized according to similarities or differences, but this time were asked for verbal explanations of their decisions. Recognition of differences was easier than recognition of similarities. Explanations of errors were either: a) ambiguous; b) color error: c) thematic (creative imaginative explanations). Children offered thematic explanations when they failed to recognize similarities between objects, but not for errors of difference.

Language production often requires speakers to convey information to a conversational partner about objects in their environment. According to Grice’s Maxim of Quantity (1975), speakers should provide only the precise amount of information needed to identify an object. However, it is frequently observed that speakers will include redundant adjectives in their referring expressions, rendering their descriptions overspecified. The majority of the research investigating overspecification has focused on how scene characteristics influence the likelihood of this behaviour. To date, less is known about the internal characteristics of the speaker that may play a role in the production of overspecified descriptions, and in referential communication more generally. The current experiment investigates the role of working memory in the generation of referential descriptions and examines how this interacts with manipulations of scene characteristics and cognitive load. Participants were asked to provide instructions to a confederate about which object to select from an array of either three or six unrelated objects while they simultaneously remembered a series of either zero, three, or five numbers. Participants also completed an operation span task to measure their individual working memory capacity (WMC). Results showed a main effect of array size for speech onset times, confirming that speakers are faster to initiate their speech when there are fewer objects in the display. Further, there was a significant three-way interaction between array size, cognitive load, and operation span scores, indicating that speakers with lower WMC are more likely to use redundant adjectives for three object arrays under low levels of load. Finally, there was a significant, negative correlation between speech rate and adjective use, indicating that speakers adjust their rate of speech depending on their choice of referring expression. The results of this research suggest a potential role for individual WMC in the production of overspecified descriptions. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Interactive communication often involves speakers relaying information to a conversational partner about objects in the environment, a phenomenon typically referred to as referential communication. A significant focus of previous research in this area is on how speakers chose to identify objects for a conversational partner. The focus of the current research is to examine the underlying cognitive mechanisms that support this behaviour. Participants were asked to communicate with a partner about objects on a computer screen while completing a secondary memory task. The findings of this research suggest that individual working memory capacity influences the amount of information speakers choose to include in their referential descriptions. Further, we show that including unnecessary information in object descriptions (i.e., referring to object attributes in the absence of contrastive objects) leads to a reduced speech rate, likely because of increased demands on speech planning.

La relation homme-animal se construit à partir des interactions entre chacun des partenaires qui se transmettent des informations via les signaux sensoriels. Mieux comprendre l’effet de ces interactions passe par la détermination de la sensibilité des animaux aux signaux émis par l’homme. Les interactions vocales entre l’homme et le porc domestique ont été peu étudiées, alors que ce canal est utilisé par l’homme dans les pratiques d’élevage.La thèse a donc cherché à déterminer (1) la sensibilité des porcelets aux variations du signal vocal, (2) les effets de son utilisation dans la mise en place de la relation homme-animal et (3) son utilisation dans la communication référentielle avec l’animal. Les réponses des porcs ont été évaluées (1) dans des tests de discrimination de stimuli vocaux, (2) lors de la mise en place de la relation et de tests de réponse à la présence humaine et (3) lors de tests de choix en présence de signaux humains.Les porcelets se sont révélés sensibles à la voix féminine neutre, sans montrer d’attirance particulière pour cette voix. Néanmoins, une voix féminine aigüe et parlant lentement les a attirés physiquement. Associée à la présence répétée de l’homme, la voix féminine aigüe et lente est associée par l’animal à une valence positive. Les résultats suggèrent que la voix pourrait être impliquée dans la reconnaissance de l’homme par les animaux. Enfin, il est possible d’apprendre aux animaux à utiliser les propriétés référentielles de la voix, mais uniquement lorsqu’elle est combinée à des signaux visuels (pointage du doigt statique et dynamiq / The human-animal relationship is based on the exchange of information via sensorial signals between both partners. Identifying the sensitivity of animals to human signals would help understanding the effect of these interactions. Although auditory interactions are common in breeding practices, vocal interactions between humans and pigs were poorly studied.This thesis studied (1) the sensitivity of piglets to vocal signal variations, (2) the effect of their use during the development of the humPiglets were sensitive to a neutral feminine voice, without showing a specific attraction for it. Nevertheless, a high-pitched feminine voice, slowly speaking attracted them physically. Combined with a repeated human presence, the high-pitched-slow-feminine voice was associated to a positive valence by piglets. Piglets could use the voice to recognize humans, as suggested by our results. Eventually, animals can learn to use the referential property of the voice but only when it is combined to visual referential signals (dynamic and static pointing gestures). Our results offer promising opportunities for the use of human voice while working with animals.

A central issue in the study of primate communication is the extent to which individuals adjust their behaviour to the attention and signals of others, and manipulate others’ attention to communicate about external events. I investigated whether 13 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes spp.), 11 bonobos (Pan paniscus), and 7 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) followed conspecific attention and led others to distal locations. Individuals were presented with a novel stimulus, to test if they would lead a conspecific to detect it in two experimental conditions. In one the conspecific faced the communicator, while another required the communicator to first attract the attention of a conspecific. All species followed conspecific attention, but only bonobos in conditions that required geometric attention following and that the communicator first attract the conspecific‘s attention. There was a clear trend for the chimpanzees to selectively produce a stimulus directional ‘hunching’ posture when viewing the stimulus in the presence of a conspecific rather than alone (the comparison was statistically non-significant, but very closely approached significance [p = 0.056]), and the behaviour consistently led conspecifics to look towards the stimulus. An observational study showed that ‘hunching’ only occurred in the context of attention following. Some chimpanzees and bonobos consistently and selectively combined functionally different behaviours (consisting of sequential auditory-stimulus-directional-behaviours), when viewing the stimulus in the presence of a non-attentive conspecific, although at species level this did not yield significant effects. While the design did not eliminate the possibility of a social referencing motive (“look and help me decide how to respond”), the coupling of auditory cues followed by directional cues towards a novel object, is consistent with a declarative and social referential interpretation of non-verbal deixis. An exploratory study, which applied the ‘Social Attention Hypothesis’ (that individuals accord and receive attention as a function of dominance) to attention following, showed that chimpanzees were more likely to follow the attention of the dominant individual. Overall, the results suggest that the paucity of observed referential behaviours in apes may owe to the inconspicuousness and multi-faceted nature of the behaviours.

<p>This thesis examines and measures differences in effciency between L1- and L2 language use for solving referential problems. Quantitative measures used in the study were time and error frequency. Qualitative measures, such as how the tasks and the participants own performance were experienced, were measured by an post interview and two questionaires. </p><p>Two different tasks, a sorting task and a construction task, in which each informant was given the role as a constructor or instructor, were used for data gathering. A total of 20 dyads, divided in two language groups (English and Swedish) participated in the study. </p><p>The results show large differences between the two language groups in respect to time for solving the two tasks. For the construction task, these were mainly due to different communication strategies used for error handling. In the sorting task a clear learning effect can be observed for the L2-groups which, in effect, makes the L2 users solve the sorting task almost as fast as the L1 groups, after an initial learning period. However, the informants in the L2 groups generally referred to the objects used in this task by describing peripheral characteristics of these objects. They also showed more signs of uncertainty and hesitation in the actual dialogue situation. However, no differences in error frequency could be found between the two language groups. </p><p>Differences in role-taking between the language groups were also made apparent in the study. These differences became especially clear for the L2 groups in the construction task.</p>

Ett flertal studier har undersökt användandet av olika typer av efterfrågan om förtydligande i en referentiell kommunikationsuppgift. Bland annat har skillnader i kommunikationsstrategier mellan barn med cochleaimplantat och normalhörande barn påvisats. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka huruvida kommunikationsstrategier skiljer sig åt i en referentiell kommunikationsuppgift hos barn med lindrig till måttligutvecklingsstörning och en mentalt åldersmatchad kontrollgrupp. Vidare syfte var att undersöka hur barn med lindrig till måttlig utvecklingsstörning reagerar vid kommunikationssammanbrott, när personen inte har tillgång till en specifik referent. Studien har också undersökt vokabulär hos de båda grupperna och om detta har någon betydelse för vilka kommunikationsstrategier de väljer. I studien ingick två grupper. Den ena gruppen bestod av personer med utvecklingsstörning som har en kronologisk medelålder på 14:9 år, och kontrollgruppen bestod av barn utan utvecklingsstörning med en kronologisk medelålder på 7:8 år. Båda grupperna hade en mental medelålder på 8:6 år. Barnets kommunikativa strategier skattades av logopedstudenter i en referentiell kommunikationsuppgift och ordförrådsdelen i WISC-IV användes för att kunna jämföra ordförråd. Då idén till föreliggande studie föddes ur Ibertsson et al. studie från 2009 Deaf teenagers with cochlear implants in conversation with hearing peers har samma typer av efterfrågan om förtydligande använts som utgångspunkt i analys. Resultaten visade att personer med utvecklingsstörning kan skilja sig i användandet av olika typer av efterfrågningar från en mentalt åldersmatchad grupp. Vissa typer av efterfrågningar korrelerade signifikant med varandra i högre grad inom kontrollgruppen än inom målgruppen. Prestation på ordförrådstestet skiljde sig inte signifikant mellan grupperna. I jämförelse mellan medelpoäng på ordförrådstestet och typ av reaktion, som visar ordförrådets betydelse för hur personerna reagerar på den utbytta referenten, återfanns ett signifikant resultat i målgruppen. / Several studies have investigated the use of different types of requests for clarification in a referential communication task. The purpose of this study was to examine whether communication strategies differs between children with developmental disabilities and mental age matched peers in a referential communication task, and how the children react to a communication breakdown. We tested vocabulary to see if vocabulary correlates with different types of requests for clarification. Our study included two groups. One group consisted of people with development disabilities with chronological mean age of 14:9 years. The other group consisted of mental age matched children with no development disabilities. The mental mean age of both groups was 8:6 years. The children’s communicative strategies were assessed in a referential communication task. The vocabulary was examined with the vocabulary subtest of WISC-IV. Our results indicate that children with mental disabilities differ from mental age matched peers in the use of types of requests for clarification in this study. Different types of requests correlates with each other in both groups. This indicates that the persons in the groups use different strategies in solving the task. The vocabulary was not different between the groups.

This thesis examines and measures differences in effciency between L1- and L2 language use for solving referential problems. Quantitative measures used in the study were time and error frequency. Qualitative measures, such as how the tasks and the participants own performance were experienced, were measured by an post interview and two questionaires. Two different tasks, a sorting task and a construction task, in which each informant was given the role as a constructor or instructor, were used for data gathering. A total of 20 dyads, divided in two language groups (English and Swedish) participated in the study. The results show large differences between the two language groups in respect to time for solving the two tasks. For the construction task, these were mainly due to different communication strategies used for error handling. In the sorting task a clear learning effect can be observed for the L2-groups which, in effect, makes the L2 users solve the sorting task almost as fast as the L1 groups, after an initial learning period. However, the informants in the L2 groups generally referred to the objects used in this task by describing peripheral characteristics of these objects. They also showed more signs of uncertainty and hesitation in the actual dialogue situation. However, no differences in error frequency could be found between the two language groups. Differences in role-taking between the language groups were also made apparent in the study. These differences became especially clear for the L2 groups in the construction task.

Let’s imagine a typical word-learning scenario. A toddler sits in her highchair in the kitchen and waits for her lunch. Her mother says: “Use a spoon to eat your meal”. Several objects are placed in front of the child. She can see a dish with her lunch, a spoon, a cup, a sugar bowl, a milk jar, her mother’s plate and a second cup. All these objects, present in the visual array, must be identified by the toddler; she must also parse the auditory stream into segments and determine which words are familiar and which ones are potentially new. If the child does not know the word “spoon”, she will need to use the event of naming of this referent by her mother to adjust her attention to the relevant referent. She also needs to update her representation of this word upon hearing it in different contexts with different speakers and, perhaps, different types of spoons. Efficient attention allocation in this word-learning situation will clearly contribute to the success of mapping; the degree of encoding of the word-form and of its meaning will certainly influence whether this word enters the child’s vocabulary.The complexity of such a typical scenario seems very challenging for a toddler whose cognitive resources are still far from being fully mature. Unsurprisingly, several accounts of how toddlers manage to solve this task are currently on the market. The problem of ambiguity associated with meaning-to-referent mapping (several objects co-presented in the visual scene) and with word form-to-meaning mapping (the correct word is to be singled out among phonological competitors) might be even more challenging for children who present an atypical developmental trajectory.Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and toddlers at risk for the disorder were found to acquire their vocabularies at a slower rate than their typically developing peers. In the contemporary literature, this delay in lexical knowledge acquisition is associated with poor socio-pragmatic understanding that presumably limits children’s capacity to establish referents for words in social contexts. Since impaired understanding of social interaction is a core characteristic of the cognitive profile of individuals with ASD, such an explanation of the delay in language development seems very plausible. However, several other theoretical accounts hold that in typical development socio-pragmatic skills emerge, bottom-up, through more domain-general processing of interactional experiences. In line with the latter views, it can be hypothesized that delays in lexical acquisition in ASD are not directly linked to poor socio-pragmatic understanding but are caused by low-level deficits and atypical attention allocation during word learning.Research programs on lexical learning and processing in ASD thus face the existence of different, contradictory theories of first language acquisition in typical development. Deciding a priori to build one’s experimental study against this or that theoretical background carries the risk of a limited interpretation of experimental results. A more promising way to deal with the variety of available theories of language acquisition is rather to directly confront the existing paradigms and to plan the study design in accordance. This is the approach that I privilege here. In the studies presented within this thesis, I question how social cues are used to resolve ambiguity in meaning during word-learning tasks (chapter 1) and during referential processing in typically developing children (chapter 2) and in children with ASD (chapter 3). Not only do I attempt to compare the use of social cues in word-learning and of perspectival information in referential processing in children with and without ASD, but I also try to link these results with two opposing theoretical views: the one that postulates early reliance on socio-pragmatic understanding and the other that conceives of word-learning as not being necessarily grounded in social understanding. In Chapter 1, I present evidence that children with ASD, children with SLI and typically developing children learn novel words in a flexible way by selectively attending to mappings offered by previously accurate speakers. However, I also show that such learning is likely to be supported by a surface trait attribution mechanism, rather than by genuine socio-pragmatic understanding: children in both clinical groups fail to learn selectively, when learning requires genuinely building a model of the speakers’ epistemic states. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to referential communication. I adopt several analytical and methodological modifications to existing methods, which allows me to compare two different aspects of partner-dependent processing of referential precedents. Typically developing children can be expected to recognize precedents previously established with the same partner faster, because of an automatic priming mechanism. However, potential faster processing of broken precedents with a new partner could not be explained by a low-level memory mechanism and would strongly suggest that lexical processing is influenced by expectations about the child’s partner perspective. I present evidence that children with and without ASD do not spontaneously rely on common ground during referential processing and that partner-specific effects in processing are associated with low-level priming. In chapter 3, I report evidence of impaired ability to switch between different conceptual perspectives in children with ASD, which may lead to maladaptive behavior in communication. In the last chapter of this thesis, I explore how word form-to-meaning ambiguity is resolved in children with ASD and whether these children exhibit difficulty in correctly mapping similar-sounding novel words. The results of this study suggest that lexical activation in children with ASD may be impaired and they display deficits in suppressing phonological competitors. Taken together, the results presented in this doctoral dissertation suggest that delays in word acquisition in ASD are likely to be driven by deficits in domain-general cognitive development. Even though impaired socio-cognitive understanding may lead to difficulties in discourse and pragmatics in older children, delayed access to lexical meaning in young children with ASD is likely to be associated with disruptions in domain-general mechanisms of perception, attention and memory. / Doctorat en Langues, lettres et traductologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Compared to adults, children are less effective at designing their utterances to suit the informational needs of their audience. This listener-catering behaviour, known as audience design, has been hypothesized to rely on domain general cognitive mechanisms, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. Considering that adolescence is an important period of sociocognitive growth, research on the development of audience design beyond childhood is surprisingly scant. The aim of this study was to trace the development of audience design in early and middle adolescence, and test its reliance on cognitive control function. Participants (11–12 and 15–16 years) performed two tasks assessing (1) the ability to adjust referential expressions to inferred knowledge of hearers and (2) cognitive control function. The findings suggest that the ability to take into account the informational needs of listeners during utterance formation develops considerably between early and middle adolescence. Although performance on both tasks was higher in the middle adolescent group, the study provides no evidence for a reliance of the measured audience design behaviour on cognitive control function. Future research should aim to determine whether the development of audience design in adolescence is facilitated by an increased efficacy of knowledge state attribution processes. / Förmågan att anpassa sina yttranden efter samtalspartnerns behov är mindre utvecklad hos barn än hos vuxna. Beteendet att ackommodera lyssnaren vid yttrandeformulering benämns ofta som mottargaranpassning. Mottagaranpassning i konversation har föreslagits vara avhängig exekutiva funktioner, såsom arbetsminne och kognitiv flexibilitet. Med tanke på att ungdomsåren är en viktig period för social och kognitiv mognad har anmärkningsvärt lite forskning genomförts på utvecklingen av mottagaranpassning under ungdomsåren. Målet med studien var att undersöka utvecklingen av mottagaranpassning i ungdomsåren och testa dess eventuella avhängighet av exekutiva funktioner. Deltagare (11–12 och 15–16 år) genomförde två tester som mätte (1) förmågan att anpassa referentiella yttranden till lyssnares förmodade omvärldskunskap och (2) exekutiva funktioner. Resultaten indikerar att förmågan att anpassa sina yttranden efter lyssnares förmodade omvärldskunskap utvecklas betydligt under ungdomsåren. Trots att den äldre åldersgruppen presterade bättre på testet som mätte exekutiva funktioner, predicerade inte exekutiva funktioner förmågan att mottagaranpassa referentiella yttranden. Framtida studier bör undersöka huruvida förmågan att tillskriva kunskapstillstånd till andra effektiviseras under ungdomsåren, och således främjar utvecklingen av mottagaranpassning.

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