---
_id: '66106'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Multimodal backchannels are fundamental to conversational grounding and understanding.
    However, backchannels do not always transparently reflect the interlocutor's actual
    cognitive state. “Incongruent backchannels”, where the observable feedback implies
    understanding although there is no genuine understanding, are a potential source
    of ambiguity in any interaction. Using acoustic, head movement, and discourse-related
    data from 45 naturalistic dyadic interactions, we investigate whether incongruent
    and congruent backchannels show systematically different properties using a classification
    task. Results show that these backchannels are indeed separable based on multimodal
    features. Incongruent backchannels are typically characterised by more neutral
    head movement configurations and lower acoustic dynamism, while discursive cues
    strongly influence the classification. Overall, the findings suggest a relatively
    reduced effort in the signalling of incongruent backchannels.
author:
- first_name: Olcay
  full_name: Türk, Olcay
  last_name: Türk
- first_name: Stefan Teodorov
  full_name: Lazarov, Stefan Teodorov
  id: '90345'
  last_name: Lazarov
  orcid: 0009-0009-0892-9483
- first_name: Yu
  full_name: Wang, Yu
  last_name: Wang
- first_name: Angela
  full_name: Grimminger, Angela
  id: '57578'
  last_name: Grimminger
- first_name: Hendrik
  full_name: Buschmeier, Hendrik
  id: '76456'
  last_name: Buschmeier
  orcid: 0000-0002-9613-5713
- first_name: Petra
  full_name: Wagner, Petra
  id: '74505'
  last_name: Wagner
citation:
  ama: 'Türk O, Lazarov ST, Wang Y, Grimminger A, Buschmeier H, Wagner P. When “yeah”
    means “not quite”: Multimodal detection of backchannels expressing incomplete
    understanding. In: <i>Proceedings of INTERSPEECH 2026</i>.'
  apa: 'Türk, O., Lazarov, S. T., Wang, Y., Grimminger, A., Buschmeier, H., &#38;
    Wagner, P. (n.d.). When “yeah” means “not quite”: Multimodal detection of backchannels
    expressing incomplete understanding. <i>Proceedings of INTERSPEECH 2026</i>. INTERSPEECH
    2026, Sydney, Australia.'
  bibtex: '@inproceedings{Türk_Lazarov_Wang_Grimminger_Buschmeier_Wagner, place={Sydney,
    Australia}, title={When “yeah” means “not quite”: Multimodal detection of backchannels
    expressing incomplete understanding}, booktitle={Proceedings of INTERSPEECH 2026},
    author={Türk, Olcay and Lazarov, Stefan Teodorov and Wang, Yu and Grimminger,
    Angela and Buschmeier, Hendrik and Wagner, Petra} }'
  chicago: 'Türk, Olcay, Stefan Teodorov Lazarov, Yu Wang, Angela Grimminger, Hendrik
    Buschmeier, and Petra Wagner. “When ‘Yeah’ Means ‘Not Quite’: Multimodal Detection
    of Backchannels Expressing Incomplete Understanding.” In <i>Proceedings of INTERSPEECH
    2026</i>. Sydney, Australia, n.d.'
  ieee: 'O. Türk, S. T. Lazarov, Y. Wang, A. Grimminger, H. Buschmeier, and P. Wagner,
    “When ‘yeah’ means ‘not quite’: Multimodal detection of backchannels expressing
    incomplete understanding,” presented at the INTERSPEECH 2026, Sydney, Australia.'
  mla: 'Türk, Olcay, et al. “When ‘Yeah’ Means ‘Not Quite’: Multimodal Detection of
    Backchannels Expressing Incomplete Understanding.” <i>Proceedings of INTERSPEECH
    2026</i>.'
  short: 'O. Türk, S.T. Lazarov, Y. Wang, A. Grimminger, H. Buschmeier, P. Wagner,
    in: Proceedings of INTERSPEECH 2026, Sydney, Australia, n.d.'
conference:
  end_date: 2026-10-01
  location: Sydney, Australia
  name: INTERSPEECH 2026
  start_date: 2026-09-27
date_created: 2026-07-01T19:44:35Z
date_updated: 2026-07-01T19:48:21Z
department:
- _id: '660'
language:
- iso: eng
place: Sydney, Australia
project:
- _id: '112'
  name: 'TRR 318 - Projekt A02: Verstehensprozess einer Erklärung beobachten und auswerten'
publication: Proceedings of INTERSPEECH 2026
publication_status: accepted
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'When “yeah” means “not quite”: Multimodal detection of backchannels expressing
  incomplete understanding'
type: conference
user_id: '76456'
year: '2026'
...