The emergence and evolution of graphical productions

Abstract

To study the development of graphical conventions, members of a simulated community were asked to play a series of graphical interaction games with partners drawn from the same pool. Once established, the community arrived at a set of conventional graphical referring expressions. The present paper offers a qualitative analysis of this interactive process, documenting the convergence and symbolization of participants' initially iconic graphical productions. This global process is contrasted with the local process evident among pairs who interact in isolation. Consistent with an evolutionary perspective, I argue that the graphical conventions that evolved within the simulated community are optimized representations, developed via a dynamic, interactive process. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.