When more is more: redundant modifiers can facilitate visual search

Abstract

According to the Gricean Maxim of Quantity, speakers provide the amount of information listeners require to correctly interpret an utterance, and no more (Grice in Logic and conversation, 1975). However, speakers do tend to violate the Maxim of Quantity often, especially when the redundant information improves reference precision (Degen et al. in Psychol Rev 127(4):591–621, 2020). Redundant (non-contrastive) information may facilitate real-world search if it narrows the spatial scope under consideration, or improves target template specificity. The current study investigated whether non-contrastive modifiers that improve reference precision facilitate visual search in real-world scenes. In two visual search experiments, we compared search performance when perceptually relevant, but non-contrastive modifiers were included in the search instruction. Participants (NExp. 1 = 48, NExp. 2 = 48) searched for a unique target object following a search instruction that contained either no modifier, a location modifier (Experiment 1: on the top left, Experiment 2: on the shelf), or a color modifier (the black lamp). In Experiment 1 only, the target was located faster when the verbal instruction included either modifier, and there was an overall benefit of color modifiers in a combined analysis for scenes and conditions common to both experiments. The results suggest that violations of the Maxim of Quantity can facilitate search when the violations include task-relevant information that either augments the target template or constrains the search space, and when at least one modifier provides a highly reliable cue. Consistent with Degen et al. (2020), we conclude that listeners benefit from non-contrastive information that improves reference precision, and engage in rational reference comprehension. Significance statement This study investigated whether providing more information than someone needs to find an object in a photograph helps them to find that object more easily, even though it means they need to interpret a more complicated sentence. Before searching a scene, participants were either given information about where the object would be located in the scene, what color the object was, or were only told what object to search for. The results showed that providing additional information helped participants locate an object in an image more easily only when at least one piece of information communicated what part of the scene the object was in, which suggests that more information can be beneficial as long as that information is specific and helps the recipient achieve a goal. We conclude that people will pay attention to redundant information when it supports their task. In practice, our results suggest that instructions in other contexts (e.g., real-world navigation, using a smartphone app, prescription instructions, etc.) can benefit from the inclusion of what appears to be redundant information.

Rational Redundancy in Referring Expressions: Evidence from Event‐related Potentials

“…Speakers are more likely to redundantly encode color than other kinds of adjectives (see Rubio‐Fernández, 2016, 2019; Tarenskeen et al., 2015, i.a. ), and listeners are more likely to prefer overspecifications for color than for other features (see Fukumura & Carminati, 2021; Rehring et al., 2021; Sedivy et al., 1999). In Experiment 2, we also observed a preference for color versus pattern redundant adjectives.…”

“…The question is, therefore, raised: How does the use of redundant adjectives influence listeners’ referential processing? Empirical studies have to date provided mixed evidence (Arts et al., 2011a; Brodbeck et al., 2015; Davies & Katsos 2013; Engelhardt et al., 2006, 2011; Fukumura & Carminati, 2021; Rehring et al., 2021; Rubio‐Fernández, 2020; Sedivy et al., 1999; Tourtouri et al., 2019, i.a.). These studies, however, vary in important aspects, such as the referential set size (mostly using limited contexts of up to four referents), or the kind of adjectives used redundantly (usually color and size adjectives).…”

The prioritisation of motivationally salient stimuli in hemi-spatial neglect may be underpinned by goal-relevance: a meta-analytic review

“…target), thus favouring a top-down interpretation of the results. In addition to this point, instructions can encourage participants to adopt an attentional set for specific stimulus features, resulting in more efficient goaldriven selection (Rehrig et al, 2021;Most, Scholl et al, 2005;Aimola Davies et al, 2008;Vuilleumier & Rafal, 2000). Therefore, it is expected that experiments which instructed stimulus identification, versus simple stimulus location, would result in a greater motivational detection advantage, due to the greater top-down awareness/expectation of the specific stimulus features.…”

Informationally Redundant Utterances Elicit Pragmatic Inferences

“…What has been found is that in interactive, spontaneous speech, speakers frequently modify nouns with adjectives that are not strictly necessary for referent identification (e.g., referring to a cup as the red cup, in a context where there are no other cups of any color) (Engelhardt et al, 2006;Nadig & Sedivy, 2002). Studies also showed that overinformative descriptions are often easily tolerated by comprehenders and can in fact be helpful for comprehension, when they describe non-canonical properties, or properties which may speed up object identification (Engelhardt et al, 2006;Rubio-Fernández (2016); Pogue et al, 2016;Arts, Maes, Noordman, & Jansen, 2011;Rehrig, Cullimore, Henderson, & Ferreira, 2021;Long, Rohde, & Rubio-Fernandez, 2020;Mangold & Pobel, 1988;Paraboni, Van Deemter, & Masthoff, 2007;Paraboni & van Deemter, 2014;Sonnenschein & Whitehurst, 1982;Tourtouri, Delogu, Sikos, & Crocker, 2019). There is, however, also evidence that informationally redundant utterances which have no apparent (e.g., perceptual) utility are unlikely to be produced, are generally judged to be relatively infelicitous, and tend to generate inferences (Davies & Katsos, 2010;Sedivy, 2003).…”