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Bovet V, Knutsen D, Fossard M. Direct and indirect linguistic measures of common ground in dialogue studies involving a matching task: A systematic review. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:122-136. [PMID: 37582917 PMCID: PMC10867054 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02359-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
During dialogue, speakers attempt to adapt messages to their addressee appropriately by taking into consideration their common ground (i.e., all the information mutually known by the conversational partners) to ensure successful communication. Knowing and remembering what information is part of the common ground shared with a given partner and using it during dialogue are crucial skills for social interaction. It is therefore important to better understand how we can measure the use of common ground and to identify the potential associated psychological processes. In this context, a systematic review of the literature was performed to list the linguistic measures of common ground found in dialogue studies involving a matching task and to explore any evidence of cognitive and social mechanisms underlying common ground use in this specific experimental setting, particularly in normal aging and in neuropsychological studies. Out of the 23 articles included in this review, we found seven different linguistic measures of common ground that were classified as either a direct measure of common ground (i.e., measures directly performed on the referential content) or an indirect measure of common ground (i.e., measures assessing the general form of the discourse). This review supports the idea that both types of measures should systematically be used while assessing common ground because they may reflect different concepts underpinned by distinct psychological processes. Given the lack of evidence for the implication of other cognitive and social functions in common ground use in studies involving matching tasks, future research is warranted, particularly in the clinical field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Bovet
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Institut des Sciences logopédiques, University of Neuchâtel, CH-2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - Dominique Knutsen
- UMR 9193, CNRS, SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, University of Lille, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Marion Fossard
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Institut des Sciences logopédiques, University of Neuchâtel, CH-2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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2
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Sandoz M, Iglesias K, Achim AM, Fossard M. The contribution of discursive and cognitive factors in referential choices made by elderly people during a narrative task. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024; 31:301-322. [PMID: 36602178 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2022.2150141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The present study focuses on referential choices made by healthy aged adults during narrative discourse, and their relationship with cognitive and socio-cognitive abilities. Previously, some studies have shown that, compared to young adults, older adults produce more pronouns when referring to various entities during discourse, regardless of the accessibility level of the referent for the addressee. This referential behavior has been interpreted in relation to the decrease of cognitive abilities, such as working memory abilities. There is, as of yet, little empirical evidence highlighting which cognitive competences preferentially support referential choices during discourse production. Here, we focus on three categories of referential markers (indefinite, definite markers and pronouns) produced by 78 participants from 60 to 91 years old. We used a storytelling task enabling us to examine the referential choices made at three discourse stages (introduction, maintaining or shift of the referent in focus) and in increasing levels of referential complexity (one vs two characters, and different vs same gender). In addition to specifically assessing how increasing age influences referential choices, we also examine the contribution of various cognitive and socio-cognitive skills that are presumed to play a specific role in referential choices. We found that both age and specific cognitive abilities (planification, inhibition, and verbal episodic memory) had an effect on referential choices, but that these effects depended on when (at which discourse stage) the referential markers were produced. Overall, our study highlights the complex interplay between discursive and cognitive factors in referential choices made by healthy older speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Sandoz
- Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Institut des Sciences Logopédiques, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel,Switzerland
| | - Katia Iglesias
- School of Health Sciences (HEdS-FR), HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Amélie M Achim
- Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Centre de Recherche CERVO and Centre de Recherche VITAM, Université Laval,Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Marion Fossard
- Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Institut des Sciences Logopédiques, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel,Switzerland
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3
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Achim AM, Roy MA, Fossard M. The other side of the social interaction: Theory of mind impairments in people with schizophrenia are linked to other people's difficulties in understanding them. Schizophr Res 2023; 259:150-157. [PMID: 35906170 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with schizophrenia (SZ) often present with theory of mind (ToM) deficits and with speech production deficits. While a link has been established between ToM abilities and symptoms of thought disorder, much less is known about other aspects of speech production in SZ. STUDY DESIGN This is a case-control study in which 25 stable outpatients with recent-onset SZ (27.1 years, 22 men) and 22 matched healthy controls (25.6 years, 16 men) performed a collaborative, verbal production task with a real interaction partner. Blind raters scored how easy participants made it to understand them (Facility ratings), how interesting they were to listen to (Interest ratings) and how expressive they were (Expressivity ratings). ToM was assessed with the Combined Stories Test and Sarfati's cartoon task. Symptoms were assessed with the PANSS five-factor version. STUDY RESULTS Compared to healthy controls, SZ received significantly lower ratings for all three aspects of their verbal productions (Facility, Interest and Expressivity), despite the raters being blind to group membership. Interestingly, the Facility ratings were linked to ToM performance in the SZ group, which suggest that SZ participants who have difficulties understanding others (ToM deficits) also make it harder for others to understand them. Other notable findings include a strong link between the Expressivity ratings and the Interest ratings for both groups, and significant correlations between the Facility ratings and Cognitive/Disorganisation symptoms, and between the Expressivity ratings and both Negative and Depression/Anxiety symptoms in SZ. CONCLUSION Studying speech production during real, collaborative social interactions could help move beyond the individual approach to SZ deficits, making it possible to involve the interaction partners to promote more efficient communication for people with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie M Achim
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, (room 4873), 1050, avenue de la Médecine, Quebec City G1V 0A6, QC, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, 2601, de la Canardière, Quebec City G1J 2G3, QC, Canada.
| | - Marc-André Roy
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, (room 4873), 1050, avenue de la Médecine, Quebec City G1V 0A6, QC, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO, 2601, de la Canardière, Quebec City G1J 2G3, QC, Canada
| | - Marion Fossard
- Institut des sciences logopédiques, Université de Neuchâtel, Rue Pierre-à-Mazel 7, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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Tang SX, Cong Y, Nikzad AH, Mehta A, Cho S, Hänsel K, Berretta S, Dhar AA, Kane JM, Malhotra AK. Clinical and computational speech measures are associated with social cognition in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophr Res 2023; 259:28-37. [PMID: 35835710 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we compared three domains of social cognition (emotion processing, mentalizing, and attribution bias) to clinical and computational language measures in 63 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Based on the active inference model for discourse, we hypothesized that emotion processing and mentalizing, but not attribution bias, would be related to language disturbances. Clinical ratings for speech disturbance assessed disorganized and underproductive dimensions. Computational features included speech graph metrics, use of modal verbs, use of first-person pronouns, cosine similarity of adjacent utterances, and measures of sentiment; these were represented by four principal components. We found that higher clinical ratings for disorganized speech were predicted by greater impairments in both emotion processing and mentalizing, and that these relationships remained significant when accounting for demographic variables, overall psychosis symptoms, and verbal ability. Similarly, a computational speech component reflecting insular speech was consistently predicted by impairment in emotion processing. There were notable trends for computational speech components reflecting underproductive speech and decreased content-rich speech predicting mentalizing ability. Exploratory longitudinal analyses in a small subset of participants (n = 17) found that improvements in both emotion processing and mentalizing predicted improvements in disorganized speech. Attribution bias did not demonstrate strong relationships with language measures. Altogether, our findings are consistent with the active inference model of discourse and suggest greater emphasis on treatments that target social cognitive and language systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunny X Tang
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Yan Cong
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Amir H Nikzad
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Aarush Mehta
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Sunghye Cho
- University of Pennsylvania, Linguistic Data Consortium, 3600 Market St., Suite 810, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America.
| | - Katrin Hänsel
- Yale University, Department of Laboratory Medicine, 195 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510, United States of America.
| | - Sarah Berretta
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Aamina A Dhar
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America
| | - John M Kane
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
| | - Anil K Malhotra
- Zucker Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, 75-59 263rd St., Glen Oaks, NY 11004, United States of America.
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5
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Achim AM, Thibaudeau É, Huot A, Cellard C, Roy MA. What areas of everyday functioning are affected by theory of mind deficits in recent-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders? Early Interv Psychiatry 2023; 17:57-64. [PMID: 35411646 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
AIM Functional recovery is now a recognized treatment goal for schizophrenia. It is therefore important to better understand the cognitive and psychological factors that influence functioning. Theory of mind (ToM) deficits are common in schizophrenia and have been linked to greater impairments in functioning. The current study aimed to identify which specific areas of functioning are linked to ToM in a group of 54 patients with a recent-onset of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. METHODS ToM was assessed with the Combined Stories Test (COST). Several areas of functioning were rated based on an extensive semi-structured interviews. RESULTS Among the different areas of functioning that were examined, ToM showed a significant, positive relationship with ratings for productive activities (e.g. work or school) as well as with collaboration to psychiatric care. CONCLUSION These results suggest that ToM can impair functioning especially in situations in which patients need to collaborate with others, including the interactions with the clinical team.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie M Achim
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.,CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Élisabeth Thibaudeau
- Département de psychiatrie, Université McGill, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Institut universitaire en santé mentale Douglas, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Andréanne Huot
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.,CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Caroline Cellard
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, Québec, Canada.,École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marc-André Roy
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.,CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, Québec, Canada.,CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
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6
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Alduais A, Al-Qaderi I, Alfadda H. Pragmatic Language Development: Analysis of Mapping Knowledge Domains on How Infants and Children Become Pragmatically Competent. CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9091407. [PMID: 36138716 PMCID: PMC9497940 DOI: 10.3390/children9091407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
New-borns are capable of recognising and producing sounds as they become phonologically competent. Following this, infants develop a system for connecting these sounds, which helps them become increasingly lexically competent over time. Their knowledge of these words grows as they develop, using words to form phrases, turning them into sentences, and ultimately becoming syntactically competent. By making sense of these linguistic elements, these three competencies are enhanced, and this is how infants become semantically competent. As infants continue to develop linguistic and non-linguistic communication behaviours, this miraculous language development becomes even more complex, enabling them to perfect their linguistic abilities while being pragmatically competent. In this study, a scientometric approach was used to examine past, present, and future trends in pragmatic language development (PLD). A total of 6455 documents were analysed from the Scopus, WOS, and Lens databases between 1950 and 2022. The analysis involved the visualisation and tabulation of eight bibliometric and eight scientometric indicators using CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 software for data analysis. In this study, we highlight the major patterns and topics directing the research on PLD between 1950 and 2022. The themes and topics included (1) analysing PLD as a social behaviour through the lens of executive functions; (2) studying PLD as a social behaviour based on social understanding; (3) examining PLD as a social behaviour associated with autism spectrum disorder; (4) developing an understanding of PLD in academic settings through the examination of executive functions; (5) identifying pragmatic competence versus communicative competence as a social behaviour; (6) analysing pragmatic language skills in aphasic patients via epistemic stances (i.e., attitudes towards knowledge in interaction); (7) investigating PLD as a behavioural problem in the context of a foreign language; (8) assessing PLD as a behavioural problem in individuals with autism spectrum disorder; (9) assessing PLD in persons with traumatic brain injury and closed head injury as a behavioural problem; (10) identifying the role of the right hemisphere in executive functions as a cognitive substrate; (11) assessing the impact of pragmatic failure in speech acts on pragmatic competence; and (12) investigating the patterns of PLD among learning-disabled children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Alduais
- Department of Human Sciences (Psychology), University of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy
- Correspondence: or (A.A.); (H.A.)
| | - Issa Al-Qaderi
- Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 01-445 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Hind Alfadda
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence: or (A.A.); (H.A.)
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7
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Chen D, Zhang R, Liu J, Wang P, Bei L, Liu C, Li X. Gamma‐band neural coupling during conceptual alignment. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:2992-3006. [PMID: 35285571 PMCID: PMC9120565 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Conceptual alignment is a prerequisite for mutual understanding. However, little is known about the neurophysiological brain‐to‐brain underpinning during conceptual alignment for mutual understanding. Here, we recorded multi‐channel electroencephalogram (EEG) simultaneously from two participants in Experiment 1 and adopted the dual‐tACS techniques in Experiment 2 to investigate the underlying brain‐to‐brain EEG coupling during conceptual alignment and the possible enhancement effect. Our results showed that 1) higher phase‐locking value (PLV), a sensitive measure for quantifying neural coupling strength between EEG signals, at the gamma frequency band (28–40 Hz), was observed in the left temporoparietal site (left TP) area between successful versus unsuccessful conceptual alignment. The left TP gamma coupling strength correlated with the accuracy of conceptual alignment and differentiated whether subjects belonged to the SUCCESS or FAILURE groups in our study. 2) In‐phase gamma‐band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over the left TP area increased the accuracy of subjects in the SUCCESS group but not the FAILURE group. 3) The effect of perspective‐taking on the accuracy was mediated by the gamma coupling strength within the left TP area. Our results support the role of gamma‐band coupling between brains for interpersonal conceptual alignment. We provide dynamic interpersonal neurophysiological insights into the formation of successful communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danni Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Ruqian Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Jieqiong Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Pu Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The Seventh Hospital of Sun Yat‐sen University Shenzhen China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine and Clinical Translation Guangzhou China
| | - Litian Bei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Chang‐Chia Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery University of Virginia School of Medicine Charlottesville USA
| | - Xianchun Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center Shanghai China
- Institute of Wisdom in China East China Normal University Shanghai China
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8
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Achim AM, Achim A, Fossard M. Referential communication in people with recent-onset schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:971256. [PMID: 36159951 PMCID: PMC9500190 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.971256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
People with schizophrenia present with language production impairments, yet very few studies examine language production in the context of collaborative, verbal interaction tasks performed with a real interaction partner. The current study relied on a referential communication paradigm in which participants with schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) presented a series of movie characters to their interaction partner, whose role was to identify and place the characters in the same order. The HC spontaneously provided more information when presenting characters that their interaction partner was unlikely to know than when presenting very well-known characters, and the magnitude of this adjustment was positively correlated with their performance on a theory of mind task. In contrast, people with SZ showed a significantly reduced (absent) adjustment to the likely-known vs. likely-unknown nature of the characters, and no correlation emerged with ToM. Further examination of the verbal productions revealed that HC often combined movie-related information (ex: character's name or movie title) and descriptive information whereas people with SZ more often used description only to present the characters. Overall, this study adds to our knowledge about referential choices in SZ in the context of collaborative verbal interactions with a real interaction partner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie M Achim
- Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.,Centre de Recherche CERVO and Centre de Recherche VITAM, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - André Achim
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Marion Fossard
- Institut des Sciences Logopédiques, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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9
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Achim AM, Deschamps I, Thibaudeau É, Loignon A, Rousseau LS, Fossard M, Tremblay P. The neural correlates of referential communication: Taking advantage of sparse-sampling fMRI to study verbal communication with a real interaction partner. Brain Cogn 2021; 154:105801. [PMID: 34638049 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
This paper introduces an innovative functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol to study real verbal interactions while limiting the impact of speech-related movement artefacts. This protocol is based on a sparse sampling acquisition technique and allowed participants to complete a referential communication task with a real interaction partner. During verbal interactions, speakers adjust their verbal productions depending on their interlocutors' knowledge of the referents being mentioned. These adjustments have been linked to theory of mind (ToM), the ability to infer other's mental states. We thus sought to determine if the brain regions supporting ToM would also be activated during a referential communication task in which participants have to present movie characters that vary in their likelihood of being known by their interlocutor. This pilot study establishes that the sparse sampling strategy is a viable option to study the neural correlates of referential communication while minimizing movement artefacts. In addition, the brain regions supporting ToM were recruited during the task, though specifically for the conditions where participants could adjust their verbal productions to the interlocutor's likely knowledge of the referent. This study therefore demonstrates the feasibility and relevance of a sparse-sampling approach to study verbal interactions with fMRI, including referential communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie M Achim
- Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, (room 4873), 1050, Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO / CERVO brain research Centre, 2601, de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada.
| | - Isabelle Deschamps
- Human Services, Georgian College, 825 Memorial Avenue, Orillia, ON L3V 6S2, Canada
| | - Élisabeth Thibaudeau
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard (room 1116), 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO / CERVO brain research Centre, 2601, de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
| | - Alexandra Loignon
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard (room 1116), 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO / CERVO brain research Centre, 2601, de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
| | - Louis-Simon Rousseau
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard (room 1116), 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO / CERVO brain research Centre, 2601, de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
| | - Marion Fossard
- Institut des sciences logopédiques, Université de Neuchâtel, Rue Pierre-à-Mazel 7, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Pascale Tremblay
- Département de réadaptation, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, (room 4247), 1050, Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de recherche CERVO / CERVO brain research Centre, 2601, de la Canardière, Québec, QC G1J 2G3, Canada
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10
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Knutsen D, Fossard M, Achim AM. EXPRESS: Comparing individual and collective management of referential choices in dialogue. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:712-729. [PMID: 34289761 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211037117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Past research shows that when a discourse referent is mentioned repeatedly, it is usually introduced with a full NP and maintained with a reduced form such as a pronoun. Is this also the case in dialogue, where the same referent may be introduced by one person and maintained by another person? An experiment was conducted in which participants either told entire stories to each other or told stories together, thus enabling us to contrast situations in which characters were introduced and maintained by the same person (control condition) and situations in which the introduction and the maintaining of each character were performed by different people (alternating condition). Story complexity was also manipulated through the introduction of one or two characters in each story. We found that participants were less likely to use reduced forms to maintain referents in the alternating condition. The use of reduced forms also depended on the context in which the referent was maintained (in particular, first or second mention of a character) and on story complexity. These results shed light on how the pressure to signal understanding to one's conversational partner affects referential choices throughout the interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Knutsen
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France 27023
| | - Marion Fossard
- Institut des Sciences Logopédiques, Maison des Sciences du Langage et de la Communication, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland 27214
| | - Amélie M Achim
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada Centre de recherche CERVO, Quebec, Canada 4440
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11
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Paek EJ, Yoon SO. Partner-Specific Communication Deficits in Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2021; 30:376-390. [PMID: 32585126 DOI: 10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Speakers adjust referential expressions to the listeners' knowledge while communicating, a phenomenon called "audience design." While individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show difficulties in discourse production, it is unclear whether they exhibit preserved partner-specific audience design. The current study examined if individuals with AD demonstrate partner-specific audience design skills. Method Ten adults with mild-to-moderate AD and 12 healthy older adults performed a referential communication task with two experimenters (E1 and E2). At first, E1 and participants completed an image-sorting task, allowing them to establish shared labels. Then, during testing, both experimenters were present in the room, and participants described images to either E1 or E2 (randomly alternating). Analyses focused on the number of words participants used to describe each image and whether they reused shared labels. Results During testing, participants in both groups produced shorter descriptions when describing familiar images versus new images, demonstrating their ability to learn novel knowledge. When they described familiar images, healthy older adults modified their expressions depending on the current partner's knowledge, producing shorter expressions and more established labels for the knowledgeable partner (E1) versus the naïve partner (E2), but individuals with AD were less likely to do so. Conclusions The current study revealed that both individuals with AD and the control participants were able to acquire novel knowledge, but individuals with AD tended not to flexibly adjust expressions depending on the partner's knowledge state. Conversational inefficiency and difficulties observed in AD may, in part, stem from disrupted audience design skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Jin Paek
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville
| | - Si On Yoon
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Iowa, Iowa City
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12
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Fossard M, Achim AM, Rousier-Vercruyssen L, Gonzalez S, Bureau A, Champagne-Lavau M. Referential Choices in a Collaborative Storytelling Task: Discourse Stages and Referential Complexity Matter. Front Psychol 2018. [PMID: 29515493 PMCID: PMC5826302 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
During a narrative discourse, accessibility of the referents is rarely fixed once and for all. Rather, each referent varies in accessibility as the discourse unfolds, depending on the presence and prominence of the other referents. This leads the speaker to use various referential expressions to refer to the main protagonists of the story at different moments in the narrative. This study relies on a new, collaborative storytelling in sequence task designed to assess how speakers adjust their referential choices when they refer to different characters at specific discourse stages corresponding to the introduction, maintaining, or shift of the character in focus, in increasingly complex referential contexts. Referential complexity of the stories was manipulated through variations in the number of characters (1 vs. 2) and, for stories in which there were two characters, in their ambiguity in gender (different vs. same gender). Data were coded for the type of reference markers as well as the type of reference content (i.e., the extent of the information provided in the referential expression). Results showed that, beyond the expected effects of discourse stages on reference markers (more indefinite markers at the introduction stage, more pronouns at the maintaining stage, and more definite markers at the shift stage), the number of characters and their ambiguity in gender also modulated speakers' referential choices at specific discourse stages, For the maintaining stage, an effect of the number of characters was observed for the use of pronouns and of definite markers, with more pronouns when there was a single character, sometimes replaced by definite expressions when two characters were present in the story. For the shift stage, an effect of gender ambiguity was specifically noted for the reference content with more specific information provided in the referential expression when there was referential ambiguity. Reference content is an aspect of referential marking that is rarely addressed in a narrative context, yet it revealed a quite flexible referential behavior by the speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Fossard
- Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, Institut des Sciences du Langage et de la Communication, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Amélie M Achim
- Centre de Recherche CERVO, Québec City, QC, Canada.,Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
| | - Lucie Rousier-Vercruyssen
- Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, Institut des Sciences du Langage et de la Communication, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Sylvia Gonzalez
- Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, Institut des Sciences du Langage et de la Communication, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Bureau
- Centre de Recherche CERVO, Québec City, QC, Canada.,Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
| | - Maud Champagne-Lavau
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 7309, LPL Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France
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13
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Oscillatory brain activity differentially reflects false belief understanding and complementation syntax processing. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 18:189-201. [PMID: 29380292 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0565-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
False belief understanding (FBU) enables people to consider conflicting beliefs about the same situation. While language has been demonstrated to be a correlate of FBU, there is still controversy about the extent to which a specific aspect of language, complementation syntax, is a necessary condition for FBU. The present study tested an important notion from the debate proposing that complementation syntax task is redundant to FBU measures. Specifically, we examined electrophysiological correlates of false belief, false complementation, and their respective true conditions in adults using electroencephalography (EEG), focusing on indices of oscillatory brain activity and large-scale connectivity. The results showed strong modulation of parieto-occipital alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-20 Hz) power by the experimental manipulations, with heightened sustained alpha power reflective of effortful internal processing observed in the false compared to the true conditions and reliable beta power reductions sensitive to mentalizing and/or syntactic demands in the belief versus the complementation conditions. In addition, higher coupling between parieto-occipital regions and widespread frontal sites in the beta band was found for the false-belief condition selectively. The result of divergence in beta oscillatory activity and in connectivity between false belief and false complementation does not support the redundancy hypothesis.
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14
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Sirois K, Tousignant B, Boucher N, Achim A, Beauchamp MH, Bedell G, Massicotte E, Vera-Estay E, Jackson PL. The contribution of social cognition in predicting social participation following moderate and severe TBI in youth. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2017; 29:1383-1398. [DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2017.1413987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- K. Sirois
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale – site-Institut de Réadaptation en déficience Physique de Québec (IRDPQ), Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - B. Tousignant
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - N. Boucher
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - A.M. Achim
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Département de psychiatrie et neurosciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - M. H. Beauchamp
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Ste-Justine, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - G. Bedell
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - E. Massicotte
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - E. Vera-Estay
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - P. L. Jackson
- École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Quebec City, QC, Canada
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15
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Graham SA, San Juan V, Khu M. Words are not enough: how preschoolers' integration of perspective and emotion informs their referential understanding. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2017; 44:500-526. [PMID: 27817761 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000916000519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
When linguistic information alone does not clarify a speaker's intended meaning, skilled communicators can draw on a variety of cues to infer communicative intent. In this paper, we review research examining the developmental emergence of preschoolers' sensitivity to a communicative partner's perspective. We focus particularly on preschoolers' tendency to use cues both within the communicative context (i.e. a speaker's visual access to information) and within the speech signal itself (i.e. emotional prosody) to make on-line inferences about communicative intent. Our review demonstrates that preschoolers' ability to use visual and emotional cues of perspective to guide language interpretation is not uniform across tasks, is sometimes related to theory of mind and executive function skills, and, at certain points of development, is only revealed by implicit measures of language processing.
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16
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Tousignant B, Jackson PL, Massicotte E, Beauchamp MH, Achim AM, Vera-Estay E, Bedell G, Sirois K. Impact of traumatic brain injury on social cognition in adolescents and contribution of other higher order cognitive functions. Neuropsychol Rehabil 2016; 28:429-447. [DOI: 10.1080/09602011.2016.1158114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Béatrice Tousignant
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Québec, Canada
| | - Philip L. Jackson
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Québec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Elsa Massicotte
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Québec, Canada
| | - Miriam H. Beauchamp
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Hôpital Ste-Justine, Montréal, Canada
| | - Amélie M. Achim
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Evelyn Vera-Estay
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Gary Bedell
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, USA
| | - Katia Sirois
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale, Québec, Canada
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