Journal article
Understanding language processing in variable populations on their own terms: Towards a functionalist psycholinguistics of individual differences, development, and disorders
Applied psycholinguistics, Vol.44(4), pp.565-592
07/2023
DOI: 10.1017/S0142716423000255
PMCID: PMC11280349
PMID: 39072293
Abstract
Abstract Classic psycholinguistics seeks universal language mechanisms for all people, emphasizing the “modal” listener: hearing, neurotypical, monolingual, and young adults. Applied psycholinguistics then characterizes differences in terms of their deviation from the modal. This mirrors naturalist philosophies of health which presume a normal function, with illness as a deviation. In contrast, normative positions argue that illness is partially culturally derived. It occurs when a person cannot meet socio-culturally defined goals, separating differences in biology (disease) from socio-cultural function (illness). We synthesize this with mechanistic functionalist views in which language emerges from diverse lower-level mechanisms with no one-to-one mapping to function (termed the functional mechanistic normative approach). This challenges primarily psychometric approaches—which are culturally defined—suggesting a process-based approach may yield more insight. We illustrate this with work on word recognition across multiple domains: cochlear implant users, children, language disorders, L2 learners, and aging. This work investigates each group’s solutions to the problem of word recognition as interesting in its own right. Variation in the process is value-neutral, and psychometric measures complement this, reflecting fit with cultural expectations (disease vs. illness). By examining variation in processing across people with a variety of skills and goals, we arrive at deeper insight into fundamental principles.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Understanding language processing in variable populations on their own terms: Towards a functionalist psycholinguistics of individual differences, development, and disorders
- Creators
- Bob McMurray - University of IowaKeith S. Baxelbaum - University of IowaSarah Colby - University of IowaJ Bruce Tomblin
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Applied psycholinguistics, Vol.44(4), pp.565-592
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0142716423000255
- PMID
- 39072293
- PMCID
- PMC11280349
- NLM abbreviation
- Appl Psycholinguist
- ISSN
- 0142-7164
- eISSN
- 1469-1817
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/11/2023
- Date published
- 07/2023
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Linguistics; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9984413077502771
Metrics
18 Record Views