Standardizing turn-taking metrics: A methodological toolkit for data annotation across species and taxa

Jolinde Vlaeyen , Filipa Abreu, Kolff Kayla, Bas van Boekholt, Lara M. Southern, Pharisemène Tibesar, Ray Wilkinson, Simone Pika

Conversational turn-taking, the cooperative reciprocal exchange of short and flexible turns, is fundamental for communication and social coordination. Initially thought to be uniquely human, recent research showed some evidence of cooperative turn-taking also in other animal species. However, systematic evaluations and comparisons of turn-taking skills within and across species pose considerable challenges due to different measures applied and research foci on specific elements. Here, we build on a comparative framework resting on four key elements of human conversational turn-taking - flexibility, participation frameworks, temporal relationships, and adjacency pair-like sequences - to enable standardized and feasible annotation procedures across species and taxa. Proposed parameters are described in detail, and their operationalization is outlined through step-by-step annotation schemes and real-world examples. By understanding which elements of turn-taking are shared across different model systems and taxa and by mapping similarities and differences, this standardized “turn-taking toolkit” will aid in fostering a more biocentric perspective on the evolution of communication and gaining a better understanding of the evolutionary origins of language and cooperation.