When language comprehension goes wrong for the right reasons: Good-enough, underspecified, or shallow language processing

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP
Kiel Christianson

Abstract

This paper contains an overview of language processing that can be described as "good enough", "underspecified", or "shallow". The central idea is that a nontrivial proportion of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and miscommunication can be attributed not to random error, but instead to processing preferences of the human language processing system. In other words, the very architecture of the language processor favours certain types of processing errors because in a majority of instances, this "fast and frugal", less effortful processing is good enough to support communication. By way of historical background, connections are made between this relatively recent facet of psycholinguistic study, other recent language processing models, and related concepts in other areas of cognitive science. Finally, the nine papers included in this special issue are introduced as representative of novel explorations of good-enough, or underspecified, language processing.

References

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Jan 1, 2010·Frontiers in Psychology·Miriam KosPeter Hagoort
Aug 29, 2012·Memory & Cognition·Mallory C StitesKiel Christianson
May 3, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Edward GibsonSteven T Piantadosi
Jun 25, 2013·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Stewart M McCauley, Morten H Christiansen
Sep 10, 2014·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Matthew J Traxler
Nov 15, 2014·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Gunnar Jacob, Claudia Felser
Jan 28, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Nikole D Patson, E Matthew Husband
Feb 14, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Peiyun Zhou, Kiel Christianson
Mar 17, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Elizabeth WonnacottKate Nation
Mar 25, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Dirk-Bart den OudenKiel Christianson
Apr 30, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Svetlana Malyutina, Dirk-Bart den Ouden
Jun 9, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Romy LassottaJulie Franck
Jun 24, 2015·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Hossein Karimi, Fernanda Ferreira
Mar 11, 2016·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Pavel Logačev, Shravan Vasishth

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Citations

May 14, 2016·Acta Psychologica·Peiyun Zhou, Kiel Christianson
May 7, 2016·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Kiel ChristiansonKacey L Wochna
Oct 28, 2016·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Kayleigh L WarringtonKevin B Paterson
Jun 13, 2018·Psychological Science in the Public Interest : a Journal of the American Psychological Society·Anne CastlesKate Nation
Aug 26, 2020·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Michael Meng, Markus Bader
Mar 17, 2017·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Anna Fiona WeissAdrian Staub
Jan 28, 2017·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Brennan R Payne, Kara D Federmeier
May 28, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Zoe SchlueterEllen Lau
Oct 20, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Yuanyuan Zhang, Hongwei Ding
Apr 3, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Nicolai D AyasseArthur Wingfield
Oct 27, 2018·Cognition·Peiyun ZhouKiel Christianson
Nov 13, 2021·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Jack DempseyDarren Tanner

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