Robert Hawkins

All Publications

• Interaction structure constrains the emergence of conventions in group communication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Boyce, V., Hawkins, R. D., Goodman, N. D., Frank, M. C. 2024; 121 (28): e2403888121

  Abstract

  Real-world communication frequently requires language producers to address more than one comprehender at once, yet most psycholinguistic research focuses on one-on-one communication. As the audience size grows, interlocutors face new challenges that do not arise in dyads. They must consider multiple perspectives and weigh multiple sources of feedback to build shared understanding. Here, we ask which properties of the group's interaction structure facilitate successful communication. We used a repeated reference game paradigm in which directors instructed between one and five matchers to choose specific targets out of a set of abstract figures. Across 313 games (N = 1,319 participants), we manipulated several key constraints on the group's interaction, including the amount of feedback that matchers could give to directors and the availability of peer interaction between matchers. Across groups of different sizes and interaction constraints, describers produced increasingly efficient utterances and matchers made increasingly accurate selections. Critically, however, we found that smaller groups and groups with less-constrained interaction structures ("thick channels") showed stronger convergence to group-specific conventions than large groups with constrained interaction structures ("thin channels"), which struggled with convention formation. Overall, these results shed light on the core structural factors that enable communication to thrive in larger groups.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2403888121

  View details for PubMedID 38968102

• The Emergence of Social Norms and Conventions. Trends in cognitive sciences Hawkins, R. X., Goodman, N. D., Goldstone, R. L. 2018

  Abstract

  The utility of our actions frequently depends upon the beliefs and behavior of other agents. Thankfully, through experience, we learn norms and conventions that provide stable expectations for navigating our social world. Here, we review several distinct influences on their content and distribution. At the level of individuals locally interacting in dyads, success depends on rapidly adapting pre-existing norms to the local context. Hence, norms are shaped by complex cognitive processes involved in learning and social reasoning. At the population level, norms are influenced by intergenerational transmission and the structure of the social network. As human social connectivity continues to increase, understanding and predicting how these levels and time scales interact to produce new norms will be crucial for improving communities.

  View details for PubMedID 30522867

• Improving the Replicability of Psychological Science Through Pedagogy Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. Hawkins, R. D., Smith, E. N., Au, C., Arias, J. M., Catapano, R., Hermann, E., Keil, M., Lampinen, A., Raposo, S., Reynolds, J., Salehi, S., Salloum, J., Tan, J., Frank, M. C. 2018; 1 (1): 7-18

  View details for DOI 10.1177/2515245917740427

• Path ensembles and a tradeoff between communication efficiency and resilience in the human connectome BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION Avena-Koenigsberger, A., Misic, B., Hawkins, R. X., Griffa, A., Hagmann, P., Goni, J., Sporns, O. 2017; 222 (1): 603-618

  Abstract

  Computational analysis of communication efficiency of brain networks often relies on graph-theoretic measures based on the shortest paths between network nodes. Here, we explore a communication scheme that relaxes the assumption that information travels exclusively through optimally short paths. The scheme assumes that communication between a pair of brain regions may take place through a path ensemble comprising the k-shortest paths between those regions. To explore this approach, we map path ensembles in a set of anatomical brain networks derived from diffusion imaging and tractography. We show that while considering optimally short paths excludes a significant fraction of network connections from participating in communication, considering k-shortest path ensembles allows all connections in the network to contribute. Path ensembles enable us to assess the resilience of communication pathways between brain regions, by measuring the number of alternative, disjoint paths within the ensemble, and to compare generalized measures of path length and betweenness centrality to those that result when considering only the single shortest path between node pairs. Furthermore, we find a significant correlation, indicative of a trade-off, between communication efficiency and resilience of communication pathways in structural brain networks. Finally, we use k-shortest path ensembles to demonstrate hemispherical lateralization of efficiency and resilience.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s00429-016-1238-5

  View details for Web of Science ID 000392292100035

  View details for PubMedID 27334341

• Can two dots form a Gestalt? Measuring emergent features with the capacity coefficient. Vision research Hawkins, R. X., Houpt, J. W., Eidels, A., Townsend, J. T. 2016; 126: 19-33

  Abstract

  While there is widespread agreement among vision researchers on the importance of some local aspects of visual stimuli, such as hue and intensity, there is no general consensus on a full set of basic sources of information used in perceptual tasks or how they are processed. Gestalt theories place particular value on emergent features, which are based on the higher-order relationships among elements of a stimulus rather than local properties. Thus, arbitrating between different accounts of features is an important step in arbitrating between local and Gestalt theories of perception in general. In this paper, we present the capacity coefficient from Systems Factorial Technology (SFT) as a quantitative approach for formalizing and rigorously testing predictions made by local and Gestalt theories of features. As a simple, easily controlled domain for testing this approach, we focus on the local feature of location and the emergent features of Orientation and Proximity in a pair of dots. We introduce a redundant-target change detection task to compare our capacity measure on (1) trials where the configuration of the dots changed along with their location against (2) trials where the amount of local location change was exactly the same, but there was no change in the configuration. Our results, in conjunction with our modeling tools, favor the Gestalt account of emergent features. We conclude by suggesting several candidate information-processing models that incorporate emergent features, which follow from our approach.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.visres.2015.04.019

  View details for PubMedID 25986994

• A tutorial on General Recognition Theory JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL PSYCHOLOGY Silbert, N. H., Hawkins, R. X. 2016; 73: 94-109

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jmp.2016.04.011

  View details for Web of Science ID 000381067200007

• The Formation of Social Conventions in Real-Time Environments PLOS ONE Hawkins, R. X., Goldstone, R. L. 2016; 11 (3)

  Abstract

  Why are some behaviors governed by strong social conventions while others are not? We experimentally investigate two factors contributing to the formation of conventions in a game of impure coordination: the continuity of interaction within each round of play (simultaneous vs. real-time) and the stakes of the interaction (high vs. low differences between payoffs). To maximize efficiency and fairness in this game, players must coordinate on one of two equally advantageous equilibria. In agreement with other studies manipulating continuity of interaction, we find that players who were allowed to interact continuously within rounds achieved outcomes with greater efficiency and fairness than players who were forced to make simultaneous decisions. However, the stability of equilibria in the real-time condition varied systematically and dramatically with stakes: players converged on more stable patterns of behavior when stakes are high. To account for this result, we present a novel analysis of the dynamics of continuous interaction and signaling within rounds. We discuss this previously unconsidered interaction between within-trial and across-trial dynamics as a form of social canalization. When stakes are low in a real-time environment, players can satisfactorily coordinate 'on the fly', but when stakes are high there is increased pressure to establish and adhere to shared expectations that persist across rounds.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0151670

  View details for Web of Science ID 000372697400036

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4803472

• The Formation of Social Conventions in Real-Time Environments. PloS one Hawkins, R. X., Goldstone, R. L. 2016; 11 (3): e0151670

  Abstract

  Why are some behaviors governed by strong social conventions while others are not? We experimentally investigate two factors contributing to the formation of conventions in a game of impure coordination: the continuity of interaction within each round of play (simultaneous vs. real-time) and the stakes of the interaction (high vs. low differences between payoffs). To maximize efficiency and fairness in this game, players must coordinate on one of two equally advantageous equilibria. In agreement with other studies manipulating continuity of interaction, we find that players who were allowed to interact continuously within rounds achieved outcomes with greater efficiency and fairness than players who were forced to make simultaneous decisions. However, the stability of equilibria in the real-time condition varied systematically and dramatically with stakes: players converged on more stable patterns of behavior when stakes are high. To account for this result, we present a novel analysis of the dynamics of continuous interaction and signaling within rounds. We discuss this previously unconsidered interaction between within-trial and across-trial dynamics as a form of social canalization. When stakes are low in a real-time environment, players can satisfactorily coordinate 'on the fly', but when stakes are high there is increased pressure to establish and adhere to shared expectations that persist across rounds.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0151670

  View details for PubMedID 27002729

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4803472

• Conducting real-time multiplayer experiments on the web BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS Hawkins, R. X. 2015; 47 (4): 966-976

  Abstract

  Group behavior experiments require potentially large numbers of participants to interact in real time with perfect information about one another. In this paper, we address the methodological challenge of developing and conducting such experiments on the web, thereby broadening access to online labor markets as well as allowing for participation through mobile devices. In particular, we combine a set of recent web development technologies, including Node.js with the Socket.io module, HTML5 canvas, and jQuery, to provide a secure platform for pedagogical demonstrations and scalable, unsupervised experiment administration. Template code is provided for an example real-time behavioral game theory experiment which automatically pairs participants into dyads and places them into a virtual world. In total, this treatment is intended to allow those with a background in non-web-based programming to modify the template, which handles the technical server-client networking details, for their own experiments.

  View details for DOI 10.3758/s13428-014-0515-6

  View details for Web of Science ID 000364511400005

  View details for PubMedID 25271089

• Bootstrap Methods for the Empirical Study of Decision-Making and Information Flows in Social Systems ENTROPY DeDeo, S., Hawkins, R. X., Klingenstein, S., Hitchcock, T. 2013; 15 (6): 2246-2276

  View details for DOI 10.3390/e15062246

  View details for Web of Science ID 000320773000014