Restricted Iconicity: Examining the Impact of One-Sided Iconicity on Communication
In language, the term "iconicity" refers to the phenomenon in which communicative signs resemble, or are motivated by, their meaning. Work in evolutionary linguistics and other linguistic experiments have suggested that iconicity appears at the very beginning of communication systems, providing a common ground between speakers and aiding the comprehension of new signs. Several studies have explored the uses of iconicity in two-sided communication (as occurs in natural speech) and individual learning (simulating the listener, or Receiver, in communication). However, no studies have explored the impacts of iconicity on communication when iconicity is available solely to the Sender, not the Receiver. To simulate this paradigm, we built upon former research of our advisor, Professor Gareth Roberts, and designed a two-participant communication task involving color. This experiment will include three conditions: in the first two, iconicity is high or low for both participants, while in the third, the Sender, but not the Receiver, has access to iconicity. By comparing the results of the latter condition to those of the two former, we aim to draw conclusions regarding the nature of iconicity's impacts on the Sender in communication.
Comments