Implicit Communication Research Articles

Persuasive Power of Implicit Communication: Presuppositions in Italian Lawyers Pleadings

Recent research on the persuasive and manipulative power of linguistic implicit communication highlights how implicitly conveyed content is less likely to be challenged or even questioned by addressees (cf. e.g. Lombardi Vallauri/Cominetti/Masia 2022 and references therein). The present contribution focuses on the use of linguistic implicit strategies, such as presuppositions triggered by definite descriptions or by additive focus adverbs, within the traditionally understudied area of Italian counsel proceedings, i.e. court proceedings written by the defence (cf. e.g. Gualdo-Clemenzi 2021; Visconti 2023). By employing the recently created AttiChiari corpus (www.attichiari.it), which collects counsel documents relating to proceedings both by the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) and by geographically diversified Italian courts, a set of examples is discussed, in which implicit linguistic devices are used to insert elements in the case that are thus potentially subtracted from rebuttal.

Adaptive FPGA-Based Accelerators for Human-Robot Interaction in Indoor Environments.

This study addresses the challenges of human-robot interactions in real-time environments with adaptive field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based accelerators. Predicting human posture in indoor environments in confined areas is a significant challenge for service robots. The proposed approach works on two levels: the estimation of human location and the robot's intention to serve based on the human's location at static and adaptive positions. This paper presents three methodologies to address these challenges: binary classification to analyze static and adaptive postures for human localization in indoor environments using the sensor fusion method, adaptive Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for the robot to deliver the task, and human-robot implicit communication. VLSI hardware schemes are developed for the proposed method. Initially, the control unit processes real-time sensor data through PIR sensors and multiple ultrasonic sensors to analyze the human posture. Subsequently, static and adaptive human posture data are communicated to the robot via Wi-Fi. Finally, the robot performs services for humans using an adaptive SLAM-based triangulation navigation method. The experimental validation was conducted in a hospital environment. The proposed algorithms were coded in Verilog HDL, simulated, and synthesized using VIVADO 2017.3. A Zed-board-based FPGA Xilinx board was used for experimental validation.

Cognitive Representations of Social Relationships and their Developmental Origins.

In the human mind, what is a social relationship, and what are the developmental origins of this representation? I consider findings from infant psychology and propose that our representations of social relationships are intuitive theories built on core knowledge. I propose three central components of this intuitive theory. The purpose of the first component is to recognize whether a relationship exists, the purpose of the second is to characterize the relationship by categorizing it into a model and to compute its strength (i.e., intensity, pull, or thickness), and the purpose of the third is to understand how to change relationships through explicit or implicit communication. I propose that infants possess core knowledge on which this intuitive theory is built. This paper focuses on the second component and considers evidence that infants characterize relationships. Following Relational Models Theory (A. P. Fiske, 1992, 2004) I propose that from infancy humans recognize relationships that belong to three models: communal sharing (where people are 'one'), authority ranking (where people are ranked), and equality matching (where people are separate, but evenly balanced). I further propose that humans, and potentially infants, recognize a relationship's strength which can be thought of as a continuous representation of obligations (the extent to which certain actions are expected), and commitment (the likelihood that people will continue the relationship). These representations and the assumption that others share them allow us to form, maintain, and change social relationships throughout our lives by informing how we interpret and evaluate the actions of others and plan our own.

Virtual Reality Study on Pedestrians’ Perceived Trust in Interactions with Automated Vehicles

This paper investigates the impact of different automated vehicle (AV) communication concepts on pedestrians' perceived trust when interacting with the AV in an urban intersection setting. For this, two virtual reality (VR) studies were conducted. The first examined the influence of vehicle automation on how pedestrians interpret driving behavior, while the second analyzed the effects of explicit communication concepts on pedestrians' perceived trust. The results show that AV driving behavior evokes similar associations as manually driven vehicles, with overall perceived trust scores not differing considerably (with driver: 4.7, without driver: 4.6). However, qualitative interviews revealed that pedestrians ultimately interpret AV behavior differently, yielding insights into the applicability of driving behavior of manually driven vehicles as a model for AV driving behavior. The second study showed an increase in pedestrians' perceived trust when vehicle-based explicit communication was present (mean: 4.9). In contrast, infrastructure-based communication showed no difference compared to implicit communication (mean: 4.6). The investigation of the influence of the traffic infrastructure (presence of traffic lights) has shown different results for implicit and explicit communication of AVs. For implicit communication, pedestrians' perceived trust increased with traffic lights (mean: 4.8) compared to scenarios without them (mean: 4.4). However, for explicit communication, the perceived trust decreased with traffic lights (vehicle-based: 4.7, infrastructure-based: 4.6) compared to scenarios without traffic lights (mean: 5.1). One reason for this is possible cognitive overload caused by the perception of multiple visual aids that are not always in the same field of view.

Do cyclists disregard ‘priority-to-the-right’ more often than motorists?

The integration of autonomous driving into mixed traffic environments poses unique challenges, especially at unsignalized intersections where communication and cooperation with human road users is necessary. This study addresses a critical research gap by investigating the adherence to the “priority-to-the-right” rule at an urban unsignalized intersection, comparing behavioral patterns of cyclists and motorists. Utilizing stationary mounted cameras, a 12-day traffic observation of an urban T-intersection in Braunschweig, Germany, was conducted. The class and the trajectory of road users as well as their scenarios were identified. In 202 cases, cars appearing from the right (ego, with priority) encountered cars or bikes coming from the left (foe, without priority). The study analyzed the impact of variables, ego’s direction, foe’s class and lateral position and their arrival time on their passing order through descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The findings reveal that cyclists disregard the “priority-to-the-right” rule more often than motorists. Additionally, road users who have the priority are more likely to yield when turning right, arriving at the intersection later, and encountering an opposing road user who is close to the center of the road. This study highlights the importance of implicit communication in traffic and provides essential benchmarks for developing more human-like autonomous driving systems, capable of interpreting and responding to nuanced road user interactions at unsignalized intersections.

The evidential dimension of implicitly conveyed disagreement in political debates

Abstract The idea that manipulation relies more heavily on implicit than on explicit communication has been the plank of several earlier and recent debates on argumentation and speaker roles in interactions. The present contribution will inquire into the selective nature of the use of implicit communication in political discourse; notably, analyzing the distribution of presuppositions and implicatures in two political debates, it will be argued that the use of these two implicit communicative devices – and, particularly, that of presupposition – is likely to correlate with the expression of disagreement, notably through aggressive and blasting contents, more often than with other content types. This tendency will be accounted for by considering the evidential meaning presuppositions and implicatures add to an utterance, which contributes to modulating both speaker’s commitment to truth and source identification on the part of the receiver. Data also show that, when face-threatening contents are exchanged, presuppositions epitomize by far the most preferred strategy in both debates.

Robust Phototaxis by Harnessing Implicit Communication in Modular Soft Robotic Systems

AbstractIn robotics, achieving adaptivity in complex environments is challenging. Traditional robotic systems use stiff materials and computationally expensive centralized controllers, while nature often favors soft materials and embodied intelligence. Inspired by nature's distributed intelligence, this study explores a decentralized approach for robust behavior in soft robotic systems without knowledge of their shape or environment. It is demonstrated that only a few basic rules implemented in identical modules that shape the soft robotic system can enable whole‐body phototaxis, navigating on a surface toward a light source, without explicit communication between modules or prior system knowledge. The results reveal the method's effectiveness in generating robust and adaptive behavior in dynamic and challenging environments. Moreover, the approach's simplicity makes it possible to illustrate and understand the underlying mechanism of the observed behavior, paying particular attention to the geometry of the assembled system and the effect of learning parameters. Consequently, the findings offer insights into the development of adaptive, autonomous robotic systems with minimal computational power, paving the way for robust and useful behavior in soft and microscale robots, as well as robotic matter, that operate in real‐world environments.

Implicit communication in cyclist-vehicle interaction: Examining the influence of driving dynamics in interactions with turning (automated) vehicles on cyclists' perceived safety, behavioral intention, and risk anticipation

Successful and safe management of interactions between cyclists and motorized vehicles often includes implicit communication, such as vehicle motion signals. While the introduction of automated vehicles (AVs) is anticipated to increase safety for cyclists by eliminating human error, it is still unclear how they should communicate implicitly in complex traffic scenarios. The turning maneuver constitutes a complex and ambiguous scenario, as it involves vehicle deceleration even when there is no intention to halt for the cyclist, proceeding straight ahead. A video-based laboratory study incorporating a bicycle setup examined the influence of four driving dynamics and automation status on cyclists' risk anticipation, perceived safety, and intention to continue to cycle through an intersection. Forty-two participants viewed videos of an oncoming vehicle making a left turn at an intersection from the perspective of a cyclist traveling straight through the intersection. The results indicated that participants perceived early and continuous braking of the vehicle ("passive yield") as the most favorable approach (reduced risk anticipation, higher perceived safety, and greater intention to continue to cycle through the intersection), even when compared to later but stronger braking ("active yield"). The objectively riskiest maneuver that would result in a collision ("collision") was evaluated as the least desirable. A rule-violating yet objectively safe maneuver (accelerating to exit the conflict area before the cyclist; "no yield") led to increased risk anticipation but not to lower perceived safety or reduced intention to continue to cycle through the intersection compared to active yield. The displayed automation status had minimal influence overall, although participants in the passive yield condition expressed greater uncertainty regarding their intention to continue to cycle through the intersection in interactions with AVs compared to MVs. It appears that natural driving dynamics exhibited by "good" human drivers could represent a promising approach to ensuring the safety and comfort of cyclists in interactions with AVs. Here, early and continuous braking is preferable to later and stronger braking.

Transforming informal communication in the urgent shift to teleworking: a case study in Japan

IntroductionWhile informal communication is essential for employee performance and wellbeing, it is difficult to maintain in telework settings. This issue has recently been becoming more prominent worldwide, especially because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nevertheless, how employees managed their informal communication in the sudden shift to teleworking is still understudied. This study fills this research gap by clarifying how an organization's employees improvised informal communication during the urgent shift to teleworking.MethodsAn exploratory case study of a large construction firm in Japan was conducted, focusing on how employees improvised informal communication during teleworking in response to COVID-19. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 employees and applied a qualitative thematic analysis to the collected data.ResultsFour informal communication strategies (structured informality, casual tech, implicit communication, and face-to-face opportunity seeking) that were improvised amid the sudden shift to teleworking caused by COVID-19 were identified.DiscussionThe findings can inform concrete means for the effective and dynamic transition of informal communication to teleworking settings during emergencies, thus contributing to informal communication studies as well as the promotion of resilient business operations and employee wellbeing in response to future crises.

A Within-Person Examination of Alcohol-Involved and Non-Alcohol-Involved Internal and External Sexual Consent Communication.

External consent communication and internal consent feelings may be influenced by alcohol consumption. However, whether the way someone communicates sexual consent differs when alcohol is or is not involved is not well understood. The goal of this study was to assess the within- and between-person effects of alcohol use, gender, and sexual identity on internal and external consent. Young adults (n = 375) completed a 10-minute web-administered survey about their internal and external consent in a recent alcohol- and non-alcohol-involved sexual encounter. External consent included five different behaviors to communicate consent. We conducted a repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess the within- and between-person effects of alcohol use, gender, and sexual identity on internal and external consent. Internal consent did not differ across sexual experiences or identities. In alcohol-involved encounters, there was a decreased use of implicit communication. Heterosexual women used more verbal communication during alcohol encounters than during sober encounters. Compared with men, women used more nonverbal and implicit communication across encounters. Alcohol use did not influence internal consent and was associated with a reduced use of implicit communication. The disinhibiting effects of alcohol may lead people to feel more confident and open about expressing their sexual desires. Affirmative consent initiatives can use findings to encourage more clear communication and continue to educate on gender differences in sexual consent.

Comparing implicit communication via longitudinal driving dynamics: A cross-cultural study in Germany and the UK

To ensure safe and uninterrupted traffic flow, (semi-)automated vehicles must be capable of providing comprehensible and agreeable implicit communication cues to human drivers. This driving simulator study investigated the assessment of implicit communication at a motorway slip road through longitudinal driving dynamics (acceleration, deceleration, and maintaining speed). The second aim of the study was to determine whether expectations of automated vehicles are different from those of human drivers. And thirdly, we investigated whether these findings are country-specific or can be (partially) generalised to other countries. The perception of three means of communication in connection with the presence of a labelling as an automated vehicle (eHMI) was examined in two samples in Germany and England. 27 participants drove from a slip road onto the motorway and interacted with another vehicle. After a stretch on the motorway, they passed a second slip road on which there was a vehicle merging onto the participants lane. This was repeated six times to test all variables. After each situation, the perceived cooperativity and criticality was recorded, as well as the time headway (THW) to the other vehicle. This paper presents the findings from the UK sample and compares them with the German results, which were previously published. Results show, that when the cooperating vehicles are on the slip road, participants from both countries prefer this vehicle to decelerate. However, when participants themselves are on the slip road, expectations for vehicles on the target lane are ambiguous in the UK sample. Except for one aspect (perceived cooperativity of decelerating vehicles on the slip road), the perception of automated vehicles is similar to those of manual drivers. Also, UK participants do not maintain a different safety distance from these vehicles, while this is the case in the German sample. This paper contributes valuable insights into the cross-cultural evaluation of driving dynamics, shedding light on implications for the development and acceptance of automated vehicles.

Towards the Legibility of Multi-Robot Systems

Communication is crucial for human-robot collaborative tasks. In this context, legibility studies movement as the means of implicit communication between robotic systems and a human observer. This concept has been explored mostly for manipulators and humanoid robots. In contrast, little information is available in the literature about legibility of multi-robot systems or swarms, where simplicity and non-anthropomorphism of robots, along with the complexity of their interactions and aggregated behavior impose different challenges that are not encountered in single-robot scenarios. This paper investigates legibility of multi-robot systems. Hence, we extend the definition of legibility, incorporating information about high-level goals in terms of the coordination objective of the group of robots, to previous results that focused solely on the legibility of spatial goals. A set of standard multi-robot algorithms corresponding to different coordination objectives are implemented and their legibility is evaluated in a user study, where participants observe the behavior of the multi-robot system in a virtual reality setup and are asked to identify the system’s spatial goal and coordination objective. The results of the study confirmed that coordination objectives are discernible by the users, hence multi-robot systems can be controlled to be legible, in terms of spatial goal and coordination objective.

Nudging human drivers via implicit communication by automated vehicles: Empirical evidence and computational cognitive modeling

Understanding behavior of human drivers in interactions with automated vehicles (AV) can aid the development of future AVs. Existing investigations of such behavior have predominantly focused on situations in which an AV a priori needs to take action because the human has the right of way. However, future AVs might need to proactively manage interactions even if they have the right of way over humans, e.g., a human driver taking a left turn in front of the approaching AV. Yet it remains unclear how AVs could behave in such interactions and how humans would react to them. To address this issue, here we investigated behavior of human drivers (N = 19) when interacting with an oncoming AV during unprotected left turns in a driving simulator experiment. We measured the outcomes (Go or Stay) and timing of participants’ decisions when interacting with an AV which performed subtle longitudinal nudging maneuvers, e.g. briefly decelerating and then accelerating back to its original speed. We found that participants’ behavior was sensitive to deceleration nudges but not acceleration nudges. We compared the obtained data to predictions of several variants of a drift-diffusion model of human decision making. The most parsimonious model that captured the data hypothesized noisy integration of dynamic information on time-to-arrival and distance to a fixed decision boundary, with an initial accumulation bias towards the Go decision. Our model not only accounts for the observed behavior but can also flexibly generate predictions of human responses to arbitrary longitudinal AV maneuvers, and can be used for both informing future studies of human behavior and incorporating insights from such studies into computational frameworks for AV interaction planning.

Cultural modes of conflict resolution, roommate satisfaction, and school belonging: The role of socioeconomic status in university peer relations

It is often assumed that ethnic differences are the source of cross-cultural conflict and misunderstandings in the United States. However, research indicates that socioeconomic differences, i.e., family ecologies, play an important role in producing cross-cultural value conflict between student peers in a university setting. Our prior research revealed two resolution styles: (1) a collectivistic strategy – maintaining interpersonal harmony by avoidance or implicit communication, or (2) an individualistic strategy – advocating for and expressing one's personal feelings via explicit communication. In a small qualitative study of first-generation university students from Latin American immigrant families, improved roommate relations resulted from use of the more individualistic strategy. The purpose of the present study was to extend this work by examining whether the positive role of explicit conflict resolution with dormitory roommates generalizes to a large diverse sample of university students in the United States and to examine the role of socioeconomic status, a key aspect of the ecological surround. By means of a survey of 347 first-year UCLA students, we explored the interrelations of socioeconomic status, conflict resolution style, roommate relations, sense of belonging in the university environment, and psychological distress. Socioeconomic status consisted of parent education and income, which were closely related. Being a first-generation university student (i.e., neither parent had a postsecondary degree) was, as predicted, associated with harmony-maintaining modes of resolving roommate conflicts. In accord with our earlier qualitative findings, these modes of conflict resolution were less effective than an explicit mode in producing satisfying roommate relations. Less satisfying roommate relations led, in turn, to a lower sense of belonging in the university environment and more psychological distress. This causal chain from first-generation university status to less satisfying roommate relations, a lower sense of belonging, and more psychological distress may help explain the prevalence of "imposter" syndrome among first-generation university students.

A practice-based perspective of discursive change in collegial conversations. Explicit and implicit communication at work.

This paper examines the relationship between explicit and implicit aspects of communication at work and especially how discursive change is enabled in that relationship. The studied context is collegial conversations in Swedish School-age Educare settings. The purpose is to elaborate on practice-based perspectives on reproducing and changing discourse in communication at work, contributing to productive teacher discourse. This paper proposes two aspects contributing to reproduction of discourse: shallow consensus and intersubjectivity; and two aspects enabling discursive change in collegial conversations at work: multivoicing and revisiting events. Identified aspects of (re)production in collegial conversation shows positioning and constructions of group belonging in work teams are important to make conversations productive. This paper contributes to elaboration on the literature of collegial discourse and communication and literature on team-based work.

Enhancing International Mindset in English Classes at a Japanese Music College: Impact of Integrating Documentary Photography and Piano Performance

This study explores the impact of an innovative Japanese music college workshop incorporating documentary photography and piano performance to foster the students’ international mindset. In today’s globalized society, it is becoming increasingly crucial to facilitate intercultural exchange and mutual understanding. Harnessing the power of music presents an opportunity to bridge cultural divides, and this approach may be particularly beneficial within the unique cultural context of Japan. In high-context cultures like Japan, students may not always recognize the potential information gap between themselves and others. This information gap can lead to implicit communication, obstructing a comprehensive understanding of conveyed messages. Although previous research offers models and theories regarding intercultural receptivity and communication skills, there is a lack of studies focusing on the effects and methodologies of workshops blending documentary photography and piano performance, specifically within Japanese music colleges. Therefore, the present study conducts such a workshop and assesses its effectiveness by analyzing English reports from second-year students participating in the mandatory English class at a Japanese music college. The students’ level of English proficiency is CEFR A2. The assessment focuses on whether participants, from a low-context cultural perspective, can effectively express their individuality through originality by recognizing the differences in their information compared to others based on the information they acquire during the workshop. The results demonstrate an overall increase in students’ international awareness, with particularly high-performing students showcasing a deep understanding and insightful perspectives on the situation in Ukraine. This research aims to provide practical insights and directions for educators at Japanese music colleges to more meaningfully and effectively incorporate such workshops within their English curriculum.

Communication Strategies for Effective Interaction With Pedestrians and Automated Service Vehicles in Japanese Parking Areas

One of the challenges in introducing automated service vehicles (ASVs) to parking areas is guiding pedestrians to make quick and appropriate crossing decisions based on an understanding of what the ASV typically does. This study aims to find effective communication strategies for ASVs for pedestrian crossings in Japanese parking areas. Virtual Reality experiments were conducted with 40 participants facilitating vehicle behavior (Normal Deceleration, Early Deceleration, Early Stop) and text-based external human-machine interfaces (eHMIs; No eHMI, “After you,” “I’ll stop,” “In Automated Driving”) as tools of communication with two types of ASVs (bus and golf cart) in parking areas. The results indicated that vehicle behavior significantly influenced pedestrian crossing decisions, and pedestrians began to cross when the ASV decelerated early and stopped not too far from them (Early Deceleration). Self-reported measure analyses revealed that text messages containing the intent of the ASV's actions or instruction (After you, I’ll stop) with Early Deceleration would probably lead to pedestrians’ favorable attitudes toward automated buses. These findings contribute to communication designs based on implicit communication for pedestrian crossing decision-making in parking areas with a clear interpretation of ASV’s intentions.

The role of pathetic fallacy in shaping narrative empathy

Abstract One way in which character emotion is communicated in texts is through pathetic fallacy (PF), a figure of speech that projects emotions onto surroundings, which can be conceptualised in terms of variations on the conceptual metaphor emotion is surroundings. This article explores the empathetic affordances of this emotion metaphor, presenting evidence for the ways readers exploit the linguistic forms of PF in Alice Walker’s short story The Flowers to empathise with its protagonist. We draw on think-aloud data and post-reading reflections to analyse evidence of PF perception and empathy, using Pager-McClymont’s protocol for analysing PF perception and Fernandez-Quintanilla’s framework for analysing self-report of empathy. Findings show that (1) PF’s implicit communication of emotions affords empathy even when readers do not recognise the narrative technique, and that (2) specific PF instantiations afford empathy depending on underlying conceptual metaphor, textual context and correspondence with readers’ experiential background.

What to rely on – Implicit communication between pedestrians and turning automated vehicles

Several studies have investigated implicit communication, such as driving dynamics, as a way to communicate vehicle or driver intention to pedestrians, indicating that “good” human driving behavior is sufficient to ensure a subjectively safe crossing, regardless of the vehicle’s automation status. Using a video-based laboratory experiment, the present study investigates the extent to which such findings can be transferred to more complex driving maneuvers, such as turning. The results reveal that even in this case, driving dynamics and distance remain the main determinants of crossing decisions and perceived safety. To be able to draw conclusions for vehicle algorithms, more driving maneuvers need to be investigated and analyzed.

Implicit communication and miscommunication in surgical instruction

Implicit communication and miscommunication in surgical instruction