Cognitive States and Types of Nods

Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on People in Vision, Language, and the Mind

Abstract

In this paper we will study how different types of nods are related to the cognitive states of the listener. The distinction is made between nods with movement starting upwards (up-nods) and nods with movement starting downwards (down-nods) as well as between single or repetitive nods. The data is from Japanese multiparty conversations, and the results accord with the previous findings indicating that up-nods are related to the change in the listener’s cognitive state after hearing the partner’s contribution, while down-nods convey the meaning that the listener’s cognitive state is not changed.