title: Communicative functions of directional verbal probabilities: Speaker's choice, listener's inference, and reference points.
abstract: Verbal probabilities have directional communicative functions, and most can be categorized as positive (e.g., "it is likely") or negative (e.g., "it is doubtful"). We examined the communicative functions of verbal probabilities based on the reference point hypothesis According to this hypothesis, listeners are sensitive to and can infer a speaker's reference points based on the speaker's selected directionality. In four experiments (two of which examined speakers' choice of directionality and two of which examined listeners' inferences about a speaker's reference point), we found that listeners could make inferences about speakers' reference points based on the stated directionality of verbal probability. Thus, the directionality of verbal probabilities serves the communicative function of conveying information about a speaker's reference point.
authors.affiliation: a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , The University of Tokyo , Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Hidehito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: b Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology , Tokyo Institute of Technology , Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Kimihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003142:Communication; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013060:Speech; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Directionality; Information leakage; Probability communication; Reference point hypothesis; Verbal probabilities