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Publication

Crossmodal correspondences as common ground for joint action

Editors
Title / Series / Name
Acta Psychologica
Publication Volume
212
Publication Issue
Pages
Editors
Keywords
Common ground
Communication
Crossmodal correspondences
Joint action
Multisensory perception
Social cognition
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/14201
Abstract
When performing joint actions, people rely on common ground – shared information that provides the required basis for mutual understanding. Common ground can be based on people's interaction history or on knowledge and expectations people share, e.g., because they belong to the same culture or social class. Here, we suggest that people rely on yet another form of common ground, one that originates in their similarities in multisensory processing. Specifically, we focus on ‘crossmodal correspondences’ – nonarbitrary associations that people make between stimulus features in different sensory modalities, e.g., between stimuli in the auditory and the visual modality such as high-pitched sounds and small objects. Going beyond previous research that focused on investigating crossmodal correspondences in individuals, we propose that people can use these correspondences for communicating and coordinating with others. Initial support for our proposal comes from a communication game played in a public space (an art gallery) by pairs of visitors. We observed that pairs created nonverbal communication systems by spontaneously relying on ‘crossmodal common ground’. Based on these results, we conclude that crossmodal correspondences not only occur within individuals but that they can also be actively used in joint action to facilitate the coordination between individuals.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2021
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103222
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Unit