Experiments on joint action have given us insights into the mechanisms that allow people to coordinate theiractions with each other, be it making music, dancing, or cooking a dish together. One key finding is thatpeople engage in predictions about their interaction partner’s actions. For example, when someone is aboutto hand over a candle to us, we anticipate the start and the timing of her action. A further key finding is thatpeople systematically modulatetheir actions in ways that make it easier for their interaction partners to predict them. For example, if youdon’t know whether I am about to go left or right, I may veer further to the left to signal where I am going.While these mechanisms work well for joint actionswhere the goals and the tasks that need to be performed are specified in advance, less is known about therole they play in joint improvisation where predicting others’ actions can seem impossible or detrimental. Iwill discuss the benefits and limits of action prediction in joint improvisation.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : interaction linguistique, improvisation