Cognition
Chapter 9
Language I: Introduction to
Language and Language
Comprehension
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Introduction
human language is probably one of the
most complex processes to be found
anywhere on our planet
psycholinguistics
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
phoneme
morpheme
syntax
grammar
semantics
pragmatics
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
Pragmatics - Social Language Use
the context of communication
Components of communication (speech acts)
Locution — the literal meaning of an utterance
Illocution -- the intention of the speaker
Perlocution -- how it was received by the listener
Direct: Locution = Illocution: “Please turn on the light.”
Indirect: Locution ≠ Illocution: “It is getting dark in here.”
”Let’s go for a coffee” (indirect request)
“I have class” (Iindirect rejection)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
A Caution: Psycholinguistics Is EnglishCentered
6,000-7,000 spoken languages
languages differ in terms of:
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the meaning of changes in pitch
use of passive voice
whether nouns have grammatical gender
brain processing
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
Background on the Structure of Language
phrase structure
constituents
nouns
verbs
working memory
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Constituents
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Phrase Structure
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Phrase Schema
“The small dog
will bark
loudly.”
The Nature of Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Chomsky's Approach
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language abilities explained in terms of a complex
system of rules and principles represented in the
minds of speakers
humans have innate language skills
language is modular (language is special, not
processed the same as other cognitive tasks)
surface structure vs. deep structure of sentences
ambiguous sentences
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Reactions to Chomsky's Theory
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early enthusiasm and later revisions
research failed to support the prediction that
people would take longer to process sentences
requiring numerous transformations
later theories provided constraints on language
learner's inborn knowledge
information conveyed in individual words
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistic Theories Emphasizing
Meaning
emphasis on human mind rather than on structure of
language
semantics
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistic Theories Emphasizing
Meaning
Cognitive-Functional Approach (usage-based
linguistics)—Tomasello
• the function of human language in everyday life is to
communicate meaning to other individuals
• cognitive processes intertwined with language
comprehension and production
• children use flexible strategies to create increasingly
complex language
• adults use language strategically
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Negatives
negative statements require more processing time than
affirmative statements
“It was never the case that Mr. Jones was not
incompetent.”
‘Few people strongly deny that the world is not flat.” p. 196
affirmative statements produce fewer errors
The Passive Voice
active form of a sentence is easier to understand than
the passive form
The Nature of Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Nested Structures
can result in memory overload
Ambiguity
Ambiguous Words
people pause longer when they are processing an ambiguous
word
when people encounter a potential ambiguity, the activation
builds up for all the well-known meanings of the ambiguous
item
“Rose took her money to the bank and threw it in the water.”
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Ambiguity
Ambiguous Words
People are likely to choose one particular meaning
1. if that meaning is more common than the alternate
meaning
2. if the rest of the sentence is consistent with that
meaning
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Ambiguity
Ambiguous Sentence Structure
• wandering down the wrong path
• we can usually understand ambiguous language, but we
respond more quickly and more accurately when the
language is straightforward
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neurolinguistics
Individuals with Aphasia
aphasia
Broca's area/Broca's aphasia—expressive-language
deficit
Wernicke's area/Wernicke's aphasia—receptivelanguage deficit
both kinds of aphasia can decrease grammatical
accuracy
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Broca’s Area &
Wernicke’s Area
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Hemispheric Specialization
Lateralization
Right-handed = 95% left hemisphere
Left-haded = 50-50
the left-hemisphere's role in language
the right-hemisphere's role in language
the hemispheres working together
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
the left-hemisphere's role in language
Understanding speech
Determining meaning and cause-effect relationships
Processing verbal/written images
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
the right-hemisphere's role in language
Interpret emotional tone of speech
Understand humor and non-obvious relationships
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neuroimaging Research with Normal
Individuals
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
left temporal lobe
Gernsbacher and Robertson (2005)—"A"/"The" study
virtually identical patterns of activation in left hemisphere
right hemisphere response differently to connected language
("the" sentences) than to disconnected language ("a"
sentences)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Reading requires virtually every cognitive process
Reading is remarkably efficient and accurate
Many challenges including (in English) irregular
pronunciations due to lack of one-to-one
correspondence between alphabet and speech
sounds (phonemes)
Cf Spanish, Turkish
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Comparing Written and Spoken Language
1. Reading is visual and is spread out across space,
whereas speech is auditory and is spread out
across time.
2. Readers can control the rate of input, whereas
listeners usually cannot.
3. Readers can re-scan the written input, whereas
listeners must rely much more heavily on their
working memory.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Comparing Written and Spoken Language
4. Writing is relatively standardized and error free,
whereas variability, errors, sloppy pronunciation,
and interfering stimuli are common in speech.
5. Writing shows discrete boundaries between words,
whereas speech does not.
6. Writing is confined to the words on a page,
whereas speech is supplemented by additional
auditory cues—such as stressed words and
variations in pace—that enrich the linguistic
message.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Comparing Written and Spoken Language
7. Children require elaborate teaching to master
written language, whereas they learn spoken
language very easily.
8. Adults who can read tend to learn new words more
quickly when they appear in a written form, rather
than a spoken form.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Comparing Written and Spoken Language
• Both written and spoken language require us to
understand words and appreciate the meaning of
sentences.
• For adults, scores on reading comprehension tests
are highly correlated with scores on oral
comprehension tests
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Discovering the Meaning of Unfamiliar
Words
Context
perceiving familiar words
resolving the meaning of ambiguous words
discovering the meaning of unfamiliar words
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Discovering the Meaning of Unfamiliar
Words
Sternberg and Powell (1983)
• context can provide several kinds of information
cues about the meaning of an unknown word (e.g.,
when and where an unknown item occurs)
• words that appear in a rich context of different cues
are more likely to be accurately defined
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Discovering the Meaning of Unfamiliar
Words
Sternberg and Powell (1983) (continued)
• large individual differences
• ability to use contextual cues and provide accurate
definitions for unfamiliar words correlated with tests
of vocabulary, reading comprehension, and general
intelligence
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Reading and Working Memory
• readers who have a relatively large workingmemory span can quickly process ambiguous
sentences
• people with large working-memory spans are
especially skilled in reading difficult passages and
solving complex verbal problems
• working memory helps us to understand
complicated sentences
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
How do we look at a pattern of letters and actually
recognize that word?
Dual-route approach to reading—skilled readers
employ both a direct-access route (recognize
word directly through vision) and an indirectaccess route (recognize word by first sounding out
the word)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Research on the Dual-Route Approach
Bradshaw and Nettleton (1974)—direct-access
approach
• pairs of words with similar spelling, but different sounds
• read first word silently and then pronounce second word
out loud
• no interference indicated by no hesitation in pronouncing
second word
• suggests that we do not silently pronounce each word
during normal reading
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Research on the Dual-Route Approach
Luo and coauthors (1998)—indirect-access approach
• pairs of words judged related or unrelated in meaning
• students made errors on pairs where the second word
sounds like a word that is semantically related to the first
word (e.g., LION-BARE)
• suggests they were silently pronouncing the word pairs
when they made the judgments
• few errors on pairs where the second word looked like a
related word (e.g., LION-BEAN)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Research on the Dual-Route Approach
Word sounds may be especially important when
children begin to read. Children with high
phonological awareness have superior reading
skills.
Children vs. adults—tongue twisters
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Research on the Dual-Route Approach
Dual-route Approach
• flexible
• argues that the characteristics of the reading material
determine whether access is indirect or direct
• argues that characteristics of the reader also determine
whether access is indirect or direct
• individual differences
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Implications for Teaching Reading to Children
Whole-word approach (direct access)
• argues readers can directly connect the written word—as
an entire unit—with the meaning that this word represents
• argues that children should not learn to emphasize the
way a word sounds
• emphasizes context within a sentences
• problem—even skilled adult readers achieve only about
25% accuracy when they look at an incomplete sentence
and guess which word is missing
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Implications for Teaching Reading to Children
Phonics approach (indirect access)
• readers recognize words by trying to pronounce the
individual letters in the word
• "sound it out"
• argues that speech sound is a necessary intermediate
step in reading
• emphasizes developing children's awareness of
phonemes
• phonics training helps children who have reading
problems
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading Processes
Two Pathways for Reading Words
Implications for Teaching Reading to Children
Most educators and researchers support some sort of
compromise
Whole-language approach—reading instruction
should emphasize meaning, and it should be
enjoyable, to increase children's enthusiasm about
learning to read.
The issue of basic literacy
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
discourse—language units larger than a sentence
Frederick Bartlett's research
importance of context, general background
knowledge, expertise, scripts, and schemas
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Forming an Integrated Representation of
the Text
How do we gather information together and remember
the various concepts to form an integrated and
stable message?
subtle linguistic cues (e.g., "A" vs. "The") p. 302
mental models (e.g., of a character in a story)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
make an inference during reading—draw on our
world knowledge in order to activate information that is
not explicitly stated in a written passage
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
The Constructionist View of Inferences
Constructionist view of inferences—readers usually
draw inferences about
the causes of events and
the relationships between events
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
The Constructionist View of Inferences
Huitema and coauthors (1993)
brief story
far/near placement of test sentence from statement of goal
consistent/inconsistent relationship between goal and test
sentence
measure reading time for test sentence
reading time longer for inconsistent statements
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
The Constructionist View
of Inferences
Figure 9.3 Amount of Time Taken to Read the Crucial Line in the Study by Huitema and
colleagues (1993)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
The Constructionist View of Inferences
Readers
• try to connect material within a text passage
• consult information stored in long-term memory
• try to construct an internally consistent
representation
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
Factors That Encourage Inferences
individual differences
failure to activate relevant information
working-memory capacity
metacomprehension skills
expertise
scientific texts
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Drawing Inferences During Reading
Higher-Level Inferences
mental preferences for a particular outcome may
interfere with judgments about how the story actually
turned out
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Teaching Metacomprehension Skills
metacomprehension—your thoughts about
comprehension
Contemplating your own reading strategies
relevant background knowledge
reading every sentences vs. skimming
monitoring your understanding
noticing when your mind wanders
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Teaching Metacomprehension Skills
Teaching students to
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think out loud
summarize
make predictions
describe puzzling sentences
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Individual Differences: Test Anxiety and
Reading Comprehension
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high test anxiety and poor test performance
thought intrusions
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Individual Differences: Test Anxiety and
Reading Comprehension
Cassady (2004)—test anxiety as decreasing
students' skills in understanding the information
in their textbooks
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read several paragraphs from a textbook two times
Cognitive Test Anxiety scale
multiple-choice test on textbook material
repeat with different material and study-skills survey
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Individual Differences: Test Anxiety and
Reading Comprehension
Cassady (2004) (continued)
• people who were highly anxious tended to perform
poorly on the reading-comprehension test
• people who were highly anxious tended to report
poorer study skills
• study skills not strongly correlated with scores on
the multiple-choice test
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Individual Differences: Test Anxiety and
Reading Comprehension
People with high scores on the Cognitive Test
Anxiety scale also made more errors in
summarizing textbook material and more errors
on a test of ability to make correct inferences.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Artificial Intelligence and Reading
artificial intelligence—the area of computer science
that attempts to construct computers that can
demonstrate human-like cognitive processes
natural language—ordinary human language with all
its sloppiness, ambiguities and complexities
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Artificial Intelligence and Reading
The FRUMP Project
FRUMP—Fast Reading Understanding and
Memory Program
• summarize newspaper stories by applying scripts
• humans draw numerous inferences that artificial intelligence
systems cannot access
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9
Understanding Discourse
Artificial Intelligence and Reading
More Recent Projects
Landauer and colleagues—latent semantic analysis
(LSA)
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perform sophisticated language tasks
provide tutoring sessions
grade essays
cannot match human grader
cannot assess creativity
masters just a small component of language
comprehension
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin
Chapter 9