Coordination
How do individuals adjust their actions to those of other people to achieve common goals (Clark, 1996)? Clearly, sharing action representations is not sufficient for successful interpersonal coordination. Whereas shared action representations allow individualsto simulate andpredict others’ actions,successfuljoint action often requires choosing appropriate complementary actions at an appropriate time. Take rowing a canoe as an example: When rowing a canoe alone, one can coordinate the timing of left and right paddle strokes quite easily because both actions are at one’s own command. In contrast, two people rowing a canoe together must adjust to each other, because each partner has just the left or the right paddle strokes at his or her command. Knowing whether the other performs left or right paddle strokes will not be sufficient for successful coordination. Instead, to avoid going around in circles, each rower also needs to attend to the timing of the otherrower’s strokes when timing his or her own. The coordination will be smoothest if each rower acquires an internal model that allows predicting the timing of the other rower’s actions in relation to his or her own.
Knoblich and Jordan (2003) investigated the mechanisms underlying such anticipatory coordination, using a simple computer game that posed coordination challenges similar to rowing a canoe together. The main question was whether receiving an unambiguous signal about the timing of the other person’s action would allow two individuals to achieve the same degree of coordination as a single individual playing the game alone. Although, initially, group performance was much worse than individual performance, groups who received timing feedback gradually became as effective as individuals in coordinating the two actions. Groups that were only given information about the joint outcome of their actions never reached the level of individual performance. Feedback led partners to develop a model of each other, allowing them to anticipate each other’s action timing.