ABSTRACT
Dialogue constraint can be used with speech based interaction to guide system responses. The wording of prompts can inform the user which inputs are appropriate at any given point in the interaction. The advantage is that this reduces recognition errors and inappropriate responses. The following study finds that dialogue constraint impinges on a user’s goal structure. A user that is interacting with a highly constrained dialogue is more likely to violate their own task structure and follow the structure of the dialogue, in comparison to a less constrained dialogue. The influence of dialogue structure is found across task types and is persistent even when the instructions explicitly state the order that tasks should be completed. The implication is that less constraint should be implemented where task order is crucial.
