Metropolis-Hastings algorithm in joint-attention naming game:
  Experimental semiotics study
Ryota Okumura Tadahiro Taniguchi Yosinobu Hagiwara Akira Taniguchi
In this study, we explore the emergence of symbols during interactions
between individuals through an experimental semiotic study. Previous studies
investigate how humans organize symbol systems through communication using
artificially designed subjective experiments. In this study, we have focused on
a joint attention-naming game (JA-NG) in which participants independently
categorize objects and assign names while assuming their joint attention.
  In the theory of the Metropolis-Hastings naming game (MHNG), listeners accept
provided names according to the acceptance probability computed using the
Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm. The theory of MHNG suggests that symbols
emerge as an approximate decentralized Bayesian inference of signs, which is
represented as a shared prior variable if the conditions of MHNG are satisfied.
  This study examines whether human participants exhibit behavior consistent
with MHNG theory when playing JA-NG. By comparing human acceptance decisions of
a partner's naming with acceptance probabilities computed in the MHNG, we
tested whether human behavior is consistent with the MHNG theory. The main
contributions of this study are twofold. First, we reject the null hypothesis
that humans make acceptance judgments with a constant probability, regardless
of the acceptance probability calculated by the MH algorithm. This result
suggests that people followed the acceptance probability computed by the MH
algorithm to some extent. Second, the MH-based model predicted human
acceptance/rejection behavior more accurately than the other four models:
Constant, Numerator, Subtraction, and Binary. This result indicates that symbol
emergence in JA-NG can be explained using MHNG and is considered an approximate
decentralized Bayesian inference.