Do We Notice when Communication Goes Awry? An Investigation of People's Sensitivity to Coherence in Spontaneous Conversation

In the dominant theoretical framework, human communication is modeled as the faithful transmission of information. This implies that when people are involved in communicational exchanges, they should be sensitive to the success with which information is transmitted, easily detecting when conversations lack coherence. The expectation that humans are good at detecting conversational incoherence is in line with common intuition, but there are several reasons to suspect that it might be unrealistic. First, similar intuitions have been shown to be unrealistic for a number of psychological processes. Second, faithful information transmission may conflict with other conversational goals. Third, mechanisms supporting information transmission may themselves lead to cases of incoherence being missed. To ascertain the extent to which people are insensitive to patches of serious conversational incoherence, we generated such patches in the laboratory by repeatedly crossing two unrelated conversations. Across two studies, involving both narrowly and broadly focused conversations, between 27% and 42% of the conversants did not notice that their conversations had been crossed. The results of these studies suggest that it may indeed be unrealistic to model spontaneous conversation as faithful information transmission. Rather, our results are more consistent with models of communication that view it as involving noisy and error-prone inferential processes, serving multiple independent goals.     

What Shall We Talk about in Farsi?

Previous empirical studies have suggested that language is primarily used to exchange social information, but our evidence on this derives mainly from English speakers. We present data from a study of natural conversations among Farsi (Persian) speakers in Iran and show that not only are conversation groups the same size as those observed in Europe and North America, but people also talk predominantly about social topics. We argue that these results reinforce the suggestion that language most likely evolved for the transmission of information about the social world. We also explore sex differences in conversational behavior: while the pattern is broadly similar between the sexes, men may be more sensitive than women are to discussing some topics in the presence of many other people.     

Conversational Flow Promotes Solidarity

Social interaction is fundamental to the development of various aspects of “we-ness”. Previous research has focused on the role the content of interaction plays in establishing feelings of unity, belongingness and shared reality (a cluster of variables referred to as solidarity here). The present paper is less concerned with content, but focuses on the form of social interaction. We propose that the degree to which conversations flow smoothly or not is, of itself, a cue to solidarity. We test this hypothesis in samples of unacquainted and acquainted dyads who communicate via headsets. Conversational flow is disrupted by introducing a delay in the auditory feedback (vs. no delay). Results of three studies show that smoothly coordinated conversations (compared with disrupted conversations and a control condition) increase feelings of belonging and perceptions of group entitativity, independently of conversation content. These effects are driven by the subjective experience of conversational flow. Our data suggest that this process occurs largely beyond individuals'' control. We conclude that the form of social interaction is a powerful cue for inferring group solidarity. Implications for the impact of modern communication technology on developing a shared social identity are discussed.     

Engaging the Public to Identify Opportunities to Improve Critical Care: A Qualitative Analysis of an Open Community Forum

Objective

To engage the public to understand how to improve the care of critically ill patients.

Design

A qualitative content analysis of an open community forum (Café Scientifique).

Setting

Public venue in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Participants

Members of the general public including patients, families of patients, health care providers, and members of the community at large.

Methods

A panel of researchers, decision-makers, and a family member led a Café Scientifique, an informal dialogue between the populace and experts, over three-hours to engage the public to understand how to improve the care of critically ill patients. Conventional qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. The inductive analysis occurred in three phases: coding, categorizing, and developing themes.

Results

Thirty-eight members of the public (former ICU patients, family members of patients, providers, community members) attended. Participants focused the discussion and provided concrete suggestions for improvement around communication (family as surrogate voice, timing of conversations, decision tools) and provider well-being and engagement, as opposed to medical interventions in critical care.

Conclusions

Café participants believe patient and family centered care is important to ensure high-quality care in the ICU. A Café Scientifique is a valuable forum to engage the public to contribute to priority setting areas for research in critical care, as well as a platform to share lived experience. Research stakeholders including health care organizations, governments, and funding organizations should provide more opportunities for the public to engage in meaningful conversations about how to best improve healthcare.     

Take a breath and take the turn: how breathing meets turns in spontaneous dialogue

Physiological rhythms are sensitive to social interactions and could contribute to defining social rhythms. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the implications of breathing in conversational turn exchanges remains limited. In this paper, we addressed the idea that breathing may contribute to timing and coordination between dialogue partners. The relationships between turns and breathing were analysed in unconstrained face-to-face conversations involving female speakers. No overall relationship between breathing and turn-taking rates was observed, as breathing rate was specific to the subjects'' activity in dialogue (listening versus taking the turn versus holding the turn). A general inter-personal coordination of breathing over the whole conversation was not evident. However, specific coordinative patterns were observed in shorter time-windows when participants engaged in taking turns. The type of turn-taking had an effect on the respective coordination in breathing. Most of the smooth and interrupted turns were taken just after an inhalation, with specific profiles of alignment to partner breathing. Unsuccessful attempts to take the turn were initiated late in the exhalation phase and with no clear inter-personal coordination. Finally, breathing profiles at turn-taking were different than those at turn-holding. The results support the idea that breathing is actively involved in turn-taking and turn-holding.     

Automatic Conversational Scene Analysis in Children with Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism and Typically Developing Peers

Individuals with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism fail to spontaneously attribute mental states to the self and others, a life-long phenotypic characteristic known as mindblindness. We hypothesized that mindblindness would affect the dynamics of conversational interaction. Using generative models, in particular Gaussian mixture models and observed influence models, conversations were coded as interacting Markov processes, operating on novel speech/silence patterns, termed Steady Conversational Periods (SCPs). SCPs assume that whenever an agent''s process changes state (e.g., from silence to speech), it causes a general transition of the entire conversational process, forcing inter-actant synchronization. SCPs fed into observed influence models, which captured the conversational dynamics of children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism, and age-matched typically developing participants. Analyzing the parameters of the models by means of discriminative classifiers, the dialogs of patients were successfully distinguished from those of control participants. We conclude that meaning-free speech/silence sequences, reflecting inter-actant synchronization, at least partially encode typical and atypical conversational dynamics. This suggests a direct influence of theory of mind abilities onto basic speech initiative behavior.     

Dynamically engaged smiling predicts cooperation above and beyond average smiling levels

Smiling has been conceptualized as a signal of cooperative intent, yet smiles are easy to fake. We suggest that contextually appropriate, dynamically engaged smiling imposes an attentional cost, thereby making engaged smiling a plausible “honest signal” of cooperative intent. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed data from 123 pairs of same-sex strangers having “getting-to-know-you” conversations who subsequently played a one-shot prisoner's dilemma together. We calculated the strength of engagement in smiling using a cross-lagged auto-regressive model for dyadic data. We found that when an individual's partner (the signaler) tended to smile in a more responsive way, that individual (the receiver) was more likely to cooperate. Conversely, when a signaler tended to smile in a less responsive way, the receiver was less likely to cooperate. These effects were present over-and-above the effects of average levels of smiling and self-reported liking, which also predicted likelihood of cooperation. However, dynamically engaged smiling did not predict cooperation on the part of the signaler, suggesting that receivers weight the importance of engagement more highly than they should, or even that engaged smiling might be a manipulative display. These results illustrate how conversational dynamics can influence evolutionary signaling.     

Worden psychofarmaca in het verpleeghuis te vaak voorgeschreven?

Are psychotropic drugs too frequently prescribed in Dutch nursing homes? In 1993 Ribbe en Hertogh published a paper in which they expressed their concern about the high prevalence of psychotropic drug use in Dutch nursing homes. Since then, this situation does not seem to have been changed significantly. Recent figures from psychotropic drug use in patients with dementia show prevalence rates of over 60%. The Dutch government decided to choose the prevalence of psychotropic drug use as an indicator of the quality of care and invested in a specific improvement project that aims to reduce psychotropic drug use among nursing home patients. There is a small body of evidence from international research that antipsychotics safely can be reduced without a rise in problem behaviours. In combination with the limited effectiveness and the risk of stroke and increased mortality, the question raises whether these agents should be prescribed at all at least for patients with dementia. A recent study from the UK however, found a significant decrease of antipsychotic drug use by heavily investing in all kinds of person-centered care skills of the nursing staff. These findings underscore the necessity of investing in the caregivers of nursing homes to be able to cope with the complex problems they are faced with. Tijdschr Gerontol Geriatr 2007; 38: 270-273     

Advance Care Planning in Dementia: Do Family Carers Know the Treatment Preferences of People with Early Dementia?

MethodsA cross-sectional study interviewing 60 dyads (a person with early dementia and preserved capacity and their family carer) each completing a modified LSPQ. We assessed how closely carers’ choices resembled the PWD’s preferences for treatment in three proposed health states: the here and now; severe stroke with coma; terminal cancer. Agreement between the PWD and their family carer responses was assessed using Kappa and Prevalence-Adjusted Bias-Adjusted Kappa (PABAK) statistics. We examined whether carer burden and distress, and relationship quality, influenced agreement.ResultsIn interviews PWD were able to indicate their treatment preferences across all three scenarios. In the here-and-now most wanted antibiotics (98%), fewer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (50%) and tube feeding (47%). In severe stroke and coma antibiotics remained the more preferred treatment (88%), followed by CPR (57%) and tube feeding (30%). In advanced cancer PWD expressed lower preferences for all treatments (antibiotics 68%; CPR 50%; tube feeding 37%). Carers’ choices were similar to the PWDs’ preferences in the here-and-now (71% (k = 0.03; PABAK = 0.4) with less agreement for future hypothetical health states. In severe stroke and coma carers tended wrongly to suggest that the PWD preferred more intervention (antibiotic, 67%; k = -0.022; PABAK = -0.60; CPR, 73%; k = 0.20; PABAK = -0.20, tube feeding, 66%; k = 0.25; PABAK = -0.12). In advanced cancer the agreement between PWD and carers was low (antibiotics; k = -0.03; PABAK = -0.52; CPR, k = -0.07; PABAK = -0.45; tube feeding; k = 0.20; PABAK = -0.22). However, both PWD and carers showed marked uncertainty about their preferences for end of life treatment choices. Relationship quality, carer distress and burden had no influence on agreement.ConclusionsThis study is the first to have used the LSPQ with PWD in the UK to consider treatment options in hypothetical illness scenarios. Key finding are that family carers had a low to moderate agreement with PWD on preferences for end of life treatment. This underscores how planning for care at the end of life is beset with uncertainty, even when the carer and PWD perceive the care-giving/receiving relationship is good. Families affected by dementia may benefit from early and ongoing practical and emotional support to prepare for potential changes and aid decision making in the context of the realities of care towards the end of life.     

Desarrollo de un instrumento de registro de implicación/engagement en la actividad para la observación sistemática de personas mayores con deterioro cognitivo

Introduction

As the level of cognitive impairment in people with dementia increases, it seems that the interventions aimed at this group do not obtain the expected results. Thus, it is clear that there is a need to develop specific assessment tools. One of the important aspects in people with dementia is the engagement, involvement in task and activities. Engagement is considered a quality of life and quality of care indicator. The aim of the study is to develop an Engagement recording tool for mapping people with dementia, and to obtain reliability measures.

Method

The present paper aims to present the current development of engagement behaviours. The pilot study had a sample of 19 people distributed into two groups, which were observed in order to obtain inter-rater reliability measurements using the percentage of inter-rater agreement.

Results

An observational mapping instrument was developed that achieved a high inter-rater reliability.

Conclusion

The Engagement recording tool makes it possible to gather promising results on the effects of the interventions for people with severe dementia. On the other hand, these results point to the possibilities of more specific tools to assess the different interventions which aim is to improve quality of life and quality of care in people with dementia.     

The evolution of social networks through the implementation of evidence-informed decision-making interventions: a longitudinal analysis of three public health units in Canada

Background

We studied the evolution of information-seeking networks over a 2-year period during which an organization-wide intervention was implemented to promote evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) in three public health units in Ontario, Canada. We tested whether engagement of staff in the intervention and their EIDM behavior were associated with being chosen as information source and how the trend of inter-divisional communications and the dominance of experts evolved over time.

Methods

Local managers at each health unit selected a group of staff to get engage in Knowledge Broker-led workshops and development of evidence summaries to address local public health problems. The staff were invited to answer three online surveys (at baseline and two annual follow-ups) including name generator questions eliciting the list of the staff they would turn to for help integrating research evidence into practice. We used stochastic actor-oriented modeling to study the evolution of networks. We tested the effect of engagement in the intervention, EIDM behavior scores, organizational divisions, and structural dynamics of social networks on the tendency of staff to select information sources, and the change in its trend between year 1 and year 2 of follow-up.

Results

In all the three health units, and especially in the two units with higher levels of engagement in the intervention, the network evolved towards a more centralized structure, with an increasing significance of already central staff. The staff showed greater tendencies to seek information from peers with higher EIDM behavior scores. In the public health unit that had highest engagement and stronger leadership support, the engaged staff became more central. In all public health units, the engaged staff showed an increasing tendency towards forming clusters. The staff in the three public health units showed a tendency towards limiting their connections within their divisions.

Conclusions

The longitudinal analysis provided us with a means to study the microstructural changes in public health units, clues to the sustainability of the implementation. The hierarchical transformation of networks towards experts and formation of clusters among staff who were engaged in the intervention show how implementing organizational interventions to promote EIDM may affect the knowledge flow and distribution in health care communities, which may lead to unanticipated consequences.

     

Toward an understanding of microbial communities through analysis of communication networks

Bacteria receive signals from diverse members of their biotic environment. They sense their own species through the process of quorum sensing, which detects the density of bacterial cells and regulates functions such as bioluminescence, virulence, and competence. Bacteria also respond to the presence of other microorganisms and eukaryotic hosts. Most studies of microbial communication focus on signaling between the microbe and one other organism for empirical simplicity and because few experimental systems offer the opportunity to study communication among various types of organisms. But in the real biological world, microorganisms must carry on multiple molecular conversations simultaneously between diverse organisms, thereby constructing communication networks. We propose that biocontrol of plant disease, the process of suppressing disease through application of a microorganism, offers a model for the study of communication among multiple organisms. Successful biocontrol requires the sending and receiving of signals between the biocontrol agent and the pathogen, plant host, and microbial community surrounding the host. We are using Bacillus cereus, a biocontrol agent, and the organisms it must interact with, to dissect a communication network. This system offers an excellent starting point for study because its members are defined and well studied. An understanding of signaling in the B. cereus biocontrol system may provide a model for network communication among organisms that share a habitat and provide a new angle of analysis for understanding the interconnections that define communities. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

To follow or not? How animals in fusion–fission societies handle conflicting information during group decision‐making

When group members possess differing information about the environment, they may disagree on the best movement decision. Such conflicts result in group break‐ups, and are therefore a fundamental driver of fusion–fission group dynamics. Yet, a paucity of empirical work hampers our understanding of how adaptive evolution has shaped plasticity in collective behaviours that promote and maintain fusion–fission dynamics. Using movement data from GPS‐collared bison, we found that individuals constantly associated with other animals possessing different spatial knowledge, and both personal and conspecific information influenced an individual's patch choice decisions. During conflict situations, bison used group familiarity coupled with their knowledge of local foraging options and recently sampled resource quality when deciding to follow or leave a group – a tactic that led to energy‐rewarding movements. Natural selection has shaped collective behaviours for coping with social conflicts and resource heterogeneity, which maintain fusion–fission dynamics and play an essential role in animal distribution.     

Implications of flexible foraging for interspecific interactions: lessons from simple models

1.  Some types of flexible foraging behaviours were incorporated into ecological thought in the 1960s, but the population dynamical consequences of such behaviours are still poorly understood.
2.  Flexible foraging-related traits can be classified as shifts in general and specific foraging effort, and shifts in general and specific defense.
3.  Many flexible foraging behaviours suggested by theory have received very little empirical attention, and empirical techniques used to compare the magnitudes of behavioural and non-behavioural responses to predation are likely to have overestimated the behavioural components.
4.  Adaptively flexible foraging in theory causes significant changes in the forms of consumer functional responses and generates a variety of indirect interactions. These can alter fundamental ecological processes, such as co-existence of competitors, and top-down or bottom-up effects in food webs.
5.  Many aspects of flexible foraging are still largely unknown, including the issues of how to represent the dynamics of such phenotypically plastic traits, how flexible traits in multiple species interact, what types of adaptive movements occur in metacommunities, and how adaptive behaviours influence evolutionary change.
6.  Population dynamics in large food webs may be less dependent on behavioural flexibility than in small webs because species replacement may preempt some potential types of behavioural change within species.     

Sound the stressor: how Hoatzins (Opisthocomus hoazin) react to ecotourist conversation

Exposure to ecotourists often disrupts animal behavior, which is known to contribute to heightened mortality rates. In the Amazon, the emblematic, communal nesting Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is frequently pursued by tourists eager for close views. Such encounters may cause heightened stress levels, and egg or nestling predation due to decreased parental attendance to nests and nestlings. The effect of reducing conversational tourist noise near wildlife is poorly understood, but represents one potential mechanism of mitigating the impacts of ecotourists on wildlife. In this study, we approached Hoatzins by canoe, playing recorded tourist conversations at different volumes. Both the distances from which we observed Hoatzins becoming agitated (e.g., clucking, defecation, etc.) and flush (e.g., flight or climbing away) were positively correlated with volume. Within 10 weeks Hoatzins began to habituate to silent approaches. Tourist conversations, however, continued to elicit the same heightened disturbance responses throughout data collection. Therefore, to have the best chance of seeing Hoatzins at a short distance and minimizing potentially negative disturbances, ecotourists should cease all conversation. Although not tested, silence is probably the best strategy when looking for many wildlife species.     

Social and sexual behaviours aid transmission of bacteria in birds

Understanding the behavioural mechanisms that mediate pathogen transmission in social hosts like birds could provide the empirical bases for explaining the epidemiological dynamics of zoonotic infections in vertebrates. By experimentally infecting the feathers and cloaca of captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), with the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis PWD1 (BL), we examined the self-contamination and horizontal transmission of birds sharing the same environment. We also examined whether sexual transmission of bacteria is gender biased. Our results show that bacteria placed on the plumage of the birds lead to self and allo-infections of the bird guts, possibly through preening behaviours and bacterial ingestion. Furthermore, we found that sexual transmission of the bacteria was asymmetrical, being higher when males are the transmitting sex. Our results suggest the existence of an oral-faecal-genital route of bacterial transmission for avian hosts, wherein bacteria present on feathers infect their host guts through self and allo-preening and bacterial ingestion. Gut bacteria can then be transmitted sexually with transmission rate being higher when males are the infected sex.