From Strangers to Partners: Examining Convergence within a Longitudinal Study of Task-Oriented Dialogue
Christopher M. Mitchell, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, James C. Lester · 2012
Convergence is thought to be an important phenomenon in dialogue through which interlocutors adapt to each other. Yet, its mechanisms and relationship to dialogue outcomes are not fully understood. This paper explores convergence in textual task-oriented dialogue during a longitudinal study. The results suggest that over time, convergence between interlocutors increases with successive dialogues. Additionally, for the tutorial dialogue domain at hand, convergence metrics were found to be significant predictors of dialogue outcomes such as learning, mental effort, and emotional states including frustration, boredom, and confusion. The results suggest ways in which dialogue systems may leverage convergence to enhance their interactions with users. 1