The Influence of Interaction Media on Grounding in Technologically Mediated Conversation: A Case Study in Augmentative Communication

This seminar will examine how grounding unfolds in AAC-mediated interactions, revealing both successes and obstables, as well as strategies for ensuring conversational success. It will also show how a grounding perspective helps identify communication challenges arising through computer systems, suggesting ways to redesign them for more effective interactions -- an issue that concerns DR. Higginbotham's lab and professionals in industrial engineering.

Dr. Jeff Higginbotham is a Professor at the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences in the University at Buffalo, and as a social interaction researcher, he has studied the conversations of individuals with communication challenges, focusing on those who use assistive technologies such as augmentative communication (AAC) devices. Psychologist Herb Clark (Clark & Brennan, 1991; Clark, 1996) argued that communication media (e.g., face-to-face, phone, text, video chat, AAC) partly shape conversational interactions. The key to success or breakdown lies in “grounding”—moments when speakers and listeners establish shared understanding.