A reference must be locatable by the other person
Aliases: grounding reference · deictic reference · locatable referent
What it is
Referential grounding makes expressions such as “this button” or “the paragraph on the right” resolve to the same identifiable object for both partners. Locatability means the addressee can find a sufficiently unique target and the speaker can obtain evidence of success. It concerns resolution of a reference, not continuous sharing of an entire viewport.
Why it happens
Object properties, spatial position, stable names, and interaction history narrow the candidate set. When candidates resemble one another, layouts differ, or content moves, spatial descriptions fail: speakers encode in their own coordinate system while addressees decode in another. Highlighting, telepointers, and object links bind transient spatial cues to a target; acknowledgment or an appropriate action closes the grounding loop.
Studying it
Director–matcher tasks can manipulate target similarity, layout correspondence, pointers, and labels, measuring localization time, first choice, description length, and repair turns. Interface studies should capture both viewports and object versions to separate linguistic ambiguity from coordinate mismatch. Final success alone hides the cost of repeated clarification.
Where it stops holding
Exploratory discussion may intentionally leave the referent open. Color, direction, and numbering are not universally stable because of color vision, writing direction, responsive layout, and sorting. Precise links to sensitive objects may also disclose names or locations beyond the addressee's permission.
Applying it
- Generate references from the object with a stable identity, name, local context, and preview.
- Provide transient highlighting or telepointing synchronously and show whether the target is in the partner's viewport.
- Never rely on color or “left” alone; combine labels, structural location, and content cues.
- Test matched tasks with similar objects and divergent layouts, measuring first-location success and repairs.