Processing Language in Dialogue: From Lab Studies to Natural Conversation

• Event: Seminar
• Presented by: Mathias Barthel from IDS Mannheim
• Date: 18 June 2025
• Time: 13:15-15:00
• Venue: Gothenburg University, Humanisten and online
• Address: Renströmsgatan 6, 412 55 Göteborg
• Room: J411
• Zoom link: https://gu-se.zoom.us/j/69780476534?pwd=Q9Uw2lu0zda8MsXkL08eGrqU64DMpp.1

Abstract

Turn-taking in conversation requires speakers to process incoming speech while simultaneously planning their own utterances. This talk presents research that investigates how interlocutors manage these concurrent cognitive demands. Using a multi-method approach combining controlled experiments and analyses of natural conversation, it demonstrates that speakers commonly begin planning their responses while still listening to their interlocutor, leading to partial overlap of comprehension and production processes. Laboratory evidence targeting different levels of linguistic processing reveals that comprehending incoming speech can be shallow due to high cognitive load during phases of overlapping planning. Pupillometric data from natural conversation shows that speakers nonetheless systematically engage in early response planning despite these processing costs, at least at turn transitions in which they are (co-)selected as a next speaker. This planning-in-overlap strategy appears to serve multiple conversational goals: it enables shorter gaps between turns, helps to avoid unwanted implications of delayed responses, and secures speaking opportunities in multi-party settings. The combination of these findings suggests that speakers prioritize timely turn transitions over processing efficiency and depth, supporting a planning-prioritized model of turn-taking in conversation. The results demonstrate how experimental and observational methods can complement each other to advance our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying smooth conversation.