This model likened the process of a speaker establishing reference to an author writing a book to distant readers.
The listener, in this theory, simply hears and understands the definite description as if they were reading it and, if successful, figures out the identity of the referent on their own.
Olson, while still holding to the literary model, suggested that speakers select the words they do based on context and what they believe the listener will understand.
They predicted that it would require many more words to establish reference the first time, as the participants would need to use non-standard noun phrases which would make it difficult to determine which figures were being talked about.
The results of the study confirmed many of their beliefs, and outlined some of the processes of collaborative reference, including establishing the types of noun phrases used in presentation, and their frequency.
The following actions were observed in participants working towards mutual acceptance of a reference; Grounding is the final stage in the collaborative process.
These included a study by Clark and Michael Schober in 1989[4] that dealt with overhearers and contrasting how well they understand compared to direct addressees.
In different versions of this study, overhearers had access to a tape recording of the speaker's directions, while in another they simply all sat in the same room.
The study found that overhearers had significantly more difficulty than addressees in both experiments, therefore, according to the researchers, lending credence to the collaborative model.
One study, by Brown and Dell, took issue with the aspect of the theory that suggests that speakers have particular listeners in mind when determining reference.