PROSODIC PARAMETERS IN SPONTANEOUS CONVERSATIONS: PUPILOMETRY AS A PERCEPTIVE ANALYSIS METHOD OF SPEAKING TURNS MANAGEMENT
Conversation, Prosody, Pupilometry, Perception, Shift
Turn-taking consists of a complex process of managing linguistic manifestations that act in the development of conversation (SCHEGLOFF, 1968; SACKS, SCHEGLOFF AND JEFFERSON, 1974; MARCUSCHI, 2003). Even in the face of a diversity of linguistic and gestural clues, it is difficult to know what determines the shift change and what is the appropriate moment for it to occur (LEVINSON, 1983; MARCUSCHI, 2003). Given these considerations, studies have pointed out that prosody provides important information about this interactional operation (BÖLGELS AND TORREIRA, 2021; RODDY et al, 2018; YUE, 2020). However, research investigating and describing patterns of prosodic parameters in shift maintenance and transition are still considered incipient and, in some cases, conflicting (MAGYARI et al, 2014; GAMBI et al, 2016). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of prosodic information on adults while listening to spontaneous dyadic conversations. We observed whether different intonation cue patterns act on the participants' perception of turn transitions. Specifically, intonation information (pitch) was analyzed in normal and flat condition. We observed the effect of intonational conditions on turn transitions defined as “current speaker selects next” and “self-selection”, as proposed by Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974) and also developed by Galembeck (1999). To achieve our goals we present an acoustic-perceptual experiment based on eye-tracking techniques. This device allows recording a series of continuous information from eye movements. Specifically, this study uses pupillometry techniques, which allow the assessment of mental effort or cognitive load through pupillary parameters at high levels of quality and speed (MATHÔT, 2018; PŁUŻYCZKA, 2018; SIROIS AND BRISSON, 2014). We hope that the results of this study will provide useful and complementary information for the understanding of the speech turn transition in dyadic spontaneous conversations. Among them, we can highlight the identification of intonational patterns that influence the perception of turn transitions. In addition, the use of pupillometry techniques can provide an accurate assessment of the mental effort or cognitive load involved in perceiving these intonational patterns. Therefore, the results of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the role of prosody in the turn transition and in verbal interaction in general (BARRY E ANDREEVA, 2001; FERREIRA, 2016; HERMAN, 1991; MOURA, 2016; RYNGAERT, BAUMGÄRTEL and FALEIRO, 2018). Based on the results, it may be possible to develop theoretical models that explain the relationship between prosody and turn management in verbal interaction. Furthermore, these results can have a significant impact in areas such as linguistics, cognitive psychology, speech sciences and speech technologies, especially in relation to interpersonal and human-machine communication (MCTEAR, 2018; SKANTZE, 2021).