Developing an Understanding of Communication · • Newborns prefer speech to other sounds (Vouloumanos & Werker, 2004; 2007; Shultz & Vouloumanos, 2010) • 6-month-olds recognize

Developing an understanding of communication

Alia Martin Harvard University

CBMM Summer School August 25, 2015

1

What is communication?

transfer or exchange of information

2

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3


4



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Human communication requires:

reasoning about cognitive states

reasoning about social interaction

(often) reasoning about language

5

Core Knowledge NumberGeometry/Space

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Addressee Communicator

7



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1. Language is an action 8


Is there any salt?

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“Is there any salt?”

Locationary act: interrogative about presence of salt

Illocutionary act: requesting salt

Perlocationary act: causing Austin, 1955 addressee to provide salt

10



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1. Developing an ability to identify a communication action or situation

12

• 6-month-olds recognize speech is human-

produced and human-directed (Vouloumanos et

al., 2009; Legerstee et al., 2000)

• 10-month-olds expect mutual gaze

between speakers (Beier & Spelke, 2011)

Identifying communicative contexts

• Newborns prefer speech to other sounds (Vouloumanos & Werker, 2004; 2007; Shultz & Vouloumanos, 2010)

13

© Wiley. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commonslicense. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.Source: Vouloumanos, Athena, and Janet F. Werker. "Listening to language atbirth: Evidence for a bias for speech in neonates." Developmental science 10, no.

2 (2007): 159-164.

Vouloumanos & Werker, 2007 1 to 4 days old 14


© Wiley. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commonslicense. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.Source: Vouloumanos, Athena, and Janet F. Werker. "Listening to language atbirth: Evidence for a bias for speech in neonates." Developmental science 10, no.

2 (2007): 159-164.

© Wiley Press. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commonslicense. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.Source: Vouloumanos, Athena, and Janet F. Werker. "Listening to language atbirth: Evidence for a bias for speech in neonates." Developmental science 10, no.

2 (2007): 159-164.15







• 6-month-olds recognize speech is human- produced (Vouloumanos et al., 2009) and human-

directed (Legerstee et al., 2000; Molina et al., 2004)

16

5-month-olds Vouloumanos et al., 2009 17

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Habituation

ActingTalking Test

Courtesy of American Psychological Association. Used with permission.Source: Legerstee, Maria, Joanne Barna, and Carolyn DiAdamo. "Precursorsto the development of intention at 6 months: Understanding people andtheir actions." Developmental Psychology 36, no. 5 (2000): 627.

6-month-olds Occluder reveals person Legerstee et al., 2000 19

Habituation

Talking ActingTest


Occluder reveals object 20


21







22

Hey there! Oh hi!

Hey there! Oh hi!

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license. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.Source: Beier, Jonathan S., and Elizabeth S. Spelke. "Infants’ developing understanding

of social gaze." Child development 83, no. 2 (2012): 486-496.

9- and 10-month-olds Beier & Spelke, 2011 23


Hey there! Oh hi!

Hey there! Oh hi!

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license. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.Source: Beier, Jonathan S., and Elizabeth S. Spelke. "Infants’ developing understanding

of social gaze." Child development 83, no. 2 (2012): 486-496.

24








25

Do infants understand that speech transfers information

between people?

26


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“The cup!”

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“Oooh!”


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Communicator Addressee

La taza!

Bēizi! katora! “The cup!”

Der becher! La tasse!

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“The cup!”

La tasse! Der becher!

Bēizi!

La taza!

katora!

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30














Do infants recognize that speech is communicative?

12-month-olds 31

Procedure

32

Procedure


Infant

33

Communicator Familiarization

Courtesy of Elsevier, Inc., https://www.sciencedirect.com. Used with permission.

Source: Martin, Alia, Kristine H. Onishi, and Athena Vouloumanos. "Understanding the abstract role of speech

in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003.

34

https://www.sciencedirect.com

Addressee Familiarization

Courtesy of Elsevier, Inc., https://www.sciencedirect.com. Used with permission.Source: Martin, Alia, Kristine H. Onishi, and Athena Vouloumanos. "Understanding the abstract role of speech


35




36

Test





37

Test

“****”“****”





38

Test - Speech

“Koba!”




39

Test - Cough

*cough*




40

Test – Emotional Vocalization

“Oooh!”


Test “****”

Target Non-target Courtesy of Elsevier, Inc., https://www.sciencedirect.com. Used with permission.Source: Martin, Alia, Kristine H. Onishi, and Athena Vouloumanos. "Understanding the abstract role of speech


41


Visual

Access +

Oooh

Addressee

Speech

Results Lo

ok

ing

Tim

e (

s)

* 40

35

30

25

20

*

*

*

Target 15

Non-target

10

5

0

Speech Cough Oooh

Martin, Onishi, & Vouloumanos, 2012 42

Discussion

• 12-month-olds recognize that speech

can transfer information about an

object, but emotional expressions and

coughing cannot

• Reasoning about information access?

43


“Oooh!”

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information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/. 44














Communicator Familiarization Addressee Visual Access

Courtesy of Elsevier, Inc., https://www.sciencedirect.com. Used with permission.Source: Martin, Alia, Kristine H. Onishi, and Athena Vouloumanos. "Understanding the abstract role of speechin communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003 45





46


Test *Oooh!*


in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003.47


Addressee

Speech

Results Lo

ok

ing

Tim

e (

s)

* 40

35

30

25

20

*

*

*

*

* Target 15

Non-target

10

5

0

Speech Cough Oooh Visual Access +

Oooh


Discussion




coughing cannot

• Reasoning about information access? Yes!

• Reasoning about information sources?

49

Communicator Familiarization


in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003 50




in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003. 51




52

Test – Addressee Speech“Koba!

”


Test “Koba!

”


in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003.53


Results *

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Loo

kin

g T

ime

(s)

Target

Non-target **

*

*

* *

Speech Cough Oooh Visual Addressee

Access + Speech

Oooh


Discussion




coughing cannot

• Reasoning about information access? Yes!

• Reasoning about information sources? Yes!

55

Do infants recognize that speech is communicative?

12-month-olds

6-month-olds? 56

6-month-olds…

• understand some common words used in their environment (Bergelson & Swingley, 2012; Tincoff

& Jusczyk, 1999; 2012)

• no evidence for learning a word in a

single trial

57

“Koba!” *cough*


in communication at 12months." Cognition 123, no. 1 (2012): 50-60. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.003. 58


Vouloumanos, Martin, & Onishi, in press 59

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Speech Cough Co

*

*

ugh + Visual

Access

Loo

kin

g T

ime

(s)

Target

Non-Target

=

Results: 6-month-olds

Speech is communicative for infants

• 6- and 12-month-old infants recognize

that speech is communicative

– transfers information from one person to

another

• May provide a mechanism for

language and knowledge acquisition

60

1. Developing an ability to identify a communication action or situation

61

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2. Communication requires a focus on intentions

62


Communicative Intentions Is there

any salt?

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63



Locationary act: interrogative about presence of salt

Illocutionary act: requesting salt

Perlocationary act: causing addressee

Austin, 1955

to provide salt

64



Grice (1957): Speaker meaning

1) The communicator (C) intends the

addressee (A) to respond in a particular

way (R)

2) C intends A to recognize that C intends for

A to respond R

3) C intends A to fulfill (1) on the basis of (2)

65

Infant attention to communicative intentions

66

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16 to 19 months Baldwin, 1991 67


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Southgate et al., 2010 17 months 68








Southgate et al., 2010 17 months 69



Actor does NOT see switch


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71






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73








74






75


Grice (1957): Speaker meaning



way (R)


A to respond R


76

Speaker meaning in children?

77




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18- to 30-month-olds Shwe & Markman, 1997; Grosse et al., 2010 78




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You asked for the truck? I’m going to give you the truck.

79



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You asked for the truck? I’m going to give you the sock.

80




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You asked for the sock? I’m going to give you the truck.

81









82




• By 18-24 months, children care about

the impact of their communicative

signals on the understanding (not just

the response!) of their addressee

83

3-year-olds Martin & Olson, 2013 84

“Can you give me that cup so I can pour a cup of water?”




85


Martin & Olson, 2013 86

Results

0

25

50

75

100

Functional Dysfunctional

Conventional

Dysfunctional

Unconventional

ted

Re

qu

es

ivin

g

% G

Object Requested

*

Functional

Dysfunctional

Results

0

25

50

75

100

Functional Dysfunctional

% F

un

ctio

n C

om

me

nts

Object Requested

*

Martin & Olson, 2013 87


• By 18-24 months, children care about

the impact of their communicative

signals on the understanding (not just

the response!) of their addressee

• By 3 years, children acknowledge

what the speaker meant to ask for,

even if they give her something else

88

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3. Communication is a joint action, of accumulating common ground

89


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Isaacs & Clark, 1987 90


~9months – joint attention

Tomasello, 1995; Tomasello & Carpenter, 2007

91

Person 2

~12months – use shared experience to interpret communication

Communicator

1

Communicator

2

Infant

Addressee

e.g., Ganea & Saylor, 2007; Liebal et al., 2009; Moll et al., 2006; 2007; Saylor & Ganea, 2007 92

Communicator

1

Infant

Addressee

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93


Infant

Addressee

Communicator

2

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94


Common ground

Communicator

1

Can you give

it to me?

Communicator

2

Infant

Addressee

95

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Communicator

1

Infant

Addressee

Can you give it to me?

Communicator

2

96

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Communicator

1

Can you give it to me?

Infant

Addressee

Communicator

2

97

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Communicator

1

Can you give

it to me?

Infant

Addressee

Communicator

2

98

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99


Remaining questions:

How rich are infants’

representations of common

ground?

community membership?

100

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How rich are infants’

representations of common

ground?


How rich are infants’ representations of common ground?

How do children build an

understanding of common ground

based on non-episodic cues like


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101



102







Animal communication

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Animal communication

• Sensitivity to presence of audience – e.g., alarm-calling species rarely alarm call if

no members of their species are present

• Sensitivity to identity of audience – e.g., ground squirrels, vervet monkeys alarm

call much more in presence of kin

• Sensitivity to knowledge state of

audience – e.g., Wild chimpanzees alarm-call more when

unaware chimpanzees are around

104

Animal communication • Eliciting stimuli for communicative signals, and

signals themselves, tend to be fixed/inflexible

• Receivers acquire information from vocal

signals, but no evidence of information about

mental states

• Communicators’ signals can cause a beneficialresponse in receivers, but no evidence for

intention of changing receiver’s mental state

105

Grice: Speaker meaning



way (R)


A to respond R


106

The inability of most animals to recognize

the mental states of others distinguishes

animal communication most clearly from

human language. Whereas signalers

may vocalize to change a listener’s behavior, they do not call to inform

others. Listeners acquire information from

signalers who do not, in the human

sense, intend to provide it.

Seyfarth & Cheney, 2003 107

Core Knowledge NumberGeometry/Space


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Social Beings

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Communication requires:

reasoning about cognitive states

reasoning about social interaction

(often) reasoning about language

109

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Documents

Developing an Understanding of Communication · • Newborns prefer speech to other sounds (Vouloumanos & Werker, 2004; 2007; Shultz & Vouloumanos, 2010) • 6-month-olds recognize