Joint actions
Human Language and Interaction; Dr. Marisa Casillas
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Waltzing is different from the sum of their actions—imagine Astaire and Rogers doing the same steps but in separate rooms or at separate times. Waltzing is the joint action that emerges as Astaire and Rogers do their individual steps in coordination, as a couple.
[...]
Not only do they take actions with respect to each other, but they coordinate these actions with each other.
Clark (1996; p. 3, 11)
Joint activity defined
…But what is a joint action?
Features of joint activities (more evidence to come)
Joint activities are carried out by 2+ (ratified) participants
Participants assume public activity roles that help determine the division of labor
Participants attempt to establish and achieve joint public goals
Participants might also try to achieve private goals
Joint activities are typically realized as hierarchies of joint actions or joint activities
Joint action procedures can be conventional or not
Joint activities need boundaries—entry and exit points—to be successfully engineered
Joint activities can be simultaneous or intermittent, and expand, contract, or divide in the people involved
Service encounter
Stone | [looks at Clark] I’ll be right there |
Clark | Okay |
Stone | [continues marking items off list for 15 sec, then puts inventory list aside, turns toward Clark, and begins manifestly looking for Clark’s intended items to purchase] |
Clark | These two things over here |
Stone | [nods, takes items, examines prices, ringing each up on the register] Twelve twenty-seven |
Clark | Twelve twenty-seven |
Clark | [takes out wallet, extracts a 20-dollar bill, then opens coin purse and begins rummaging] Let’s see that’s two pennies |
Clark | I’ve got two pennies [hands Stone two pennies] |
Stone | Yeah [enters $20.02 in the register, computes change] |
Stone | [retrieves change and hands it to Clark] Seven twenty-five is your change |
Clark | Right [puts money in his wallet] |
Stone | [puts the items and receipt in a bag, then hands the bag to Clark] |
Both | [breaks eye contact] |
Clark | [turns and walks away] |
Service encounter
Joint action sequence for a drugstore transaction activity
Service encounter
Joint actions
purchase items
pass items to cashier
transact payment
ensure cashier can access items
approach service counter
retrieve money from purse/wallet
establish cost
give payment to cashier
calculate total price
announce total price
ring up each item
…
…
…
Service encounter
Joint actions
Organized, planned, but flexible
purchase items
pass items to cashier
transact payment
ensure cashier can access items
approach service counter
retrieve money from purse/wallet
establish cost
give payment to cashier
calculate total price
announce total price
…
…
…
ring up each item
check on item price
The paradox of joint actions
People, as ensembles, can jointly do things that they cannot individually intend to do, i.e. beyond this:
0. The ensemble April-and-Bernard play a duet (joint action)
1. April plays the piano as part of 0. (individual action)
2. Bernard plays the flute as part of 0. (individual action)
The paradox of joint actions
April-and-Bernard are only playing a duet if and only if:
0. Playing a duet includes 1 and 2;
1. April intends to be doing April’s part of the duet and believes that 0.
2. Bernard intends to be doing Bernard’s part of the duet and believes that 0.
Schelling games
One-shot coordination games (no communication allowed)
Players work their way backwards from a desired joint outcome (i.e., picking the same answer) to the requisite joint actions, examples:
The answer is in finding the “key” (a coordination device)
Coordination devices
Also called keys or focal points
Choose one ball
Joint salience depends on:
The interactants and their common knowledge, beliefs, and experiences, including their joint goals
Case 1: My partner is a stranger
Case 2: My partner is someone I play baseball with every weekend and they know I’m their partner
Case 3: My partner is someone I play baseball with every weekend but they do not know I am their partner
Solvability premises
Someone…
.. Chose the problem
.. Designed its form
.. Has a solution in mind
.. Believes the participant(s) can converge on that solution
Solvability premises
Someone…
.. Chose the problem
.. Designed its form
.. Has a solution in mind
.. Believes the participant(s) can converge on that solution
�The diabolical third party
😈
Convention
A community’s solution to a recurring coordination problem (Lewis, 1969)
How do we greet?
Where do we walk?
When do we eat?
A convention is…
Language as a conventionalized signaling system
e.g.,. For English:
Potential vs. actual meaning
“set”: “to place”, tennis, collection, etc.
“I’m a real goldfish”, “she pulled a Clark”, etc.
this/that, their, uncle, etc.
You said “my mom is visiting”
The problem of coordination
Coordinating action
Interactants may use a combination of conventional and non-conventional procedures and signals:
Conventional procedures, e.g.,
Conductor’s baton signal, musical rhythm + sheet music, conventional language (spoken/signed/written), etc.
Non-conventional procedures, e.g.,
Iconic gestures, new word coinages, or just any joint action done ad hoc at any level of hierarchical activity planning (more to come on this)
Phases, entries, and exits
Phases, entries, and exits
Turn timing in conversation
The timing of responses to yes-no questions shows similar distributions across languages
Typically close to zero, occasional overlap, long gaps present but rare,
Stivers et al. (2009); Casillas et al. (2016)
Languages: Japanese, Tseltal, Yélî Dnye, Dutch, Korean, English, Italian, Lao, ǂAakhoe Haiǁom, and Danish��Average latency across languages: 208ms
Looking ahead…