Abstract
Communication is aided greatly when speakers and listeners take advantage of mutually shared knowledge (i.e., common ground). How such information is represented in memory is not well known. Using a neuropsychological-psycholinguistic approach to real-time language understanding, we investigated the ability to form and use common ground during conversation in memory-impaired participants with hippocampal amnesia. Analyses of amnesics' eye fixations as they interpreted their partner's utterances about a set of objects demonstrated successful use of common ground when the amnesics had immediate access to common-ground information, but dramatic failures when they did not. These findings indicate a clear role for declarative memory in maintenance of common-ground representations. Even when amnesics were successful, however, the eye movement record revealed subtle deficits in resolving potential ambiguity among competing intended referents; this finding suggests that declarative memory may be critical to more basic aspects of the on-line resolution of linguistic ambiguity.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1574-1582 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychological Science |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2011 |
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Keywords
- cognitive neuroscience
- language
- memory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
Cite this
How do i remember that i know you know that i know? / Rubin, Rachael D.; Brown-Schmidt, Sarah; Duff, Melissa C.; Tranel, Daniel; Cohen, Neal J.
In: Psychological Science, Vol. 22, No. 12, 12.2011, p. 1574-1582.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - How do i remember that i know you know that i know?
AU - Rubin, Rachael D.
AU - Brown-Schmidt, Sarah
AU - Duff, Melissa C.
AU - Tranel, Daniel
AU - Cohen, Neal J.
PY - 2011/12
Y1 - 2011/12
N2 - Communication is aided greatly when speakers and listeners take advantage of mutually shared knowledge (i.e., common ground). How such information is represented in memory is not well known. Using a neuropsychological-psycholinguistic approach to real-time language understanding, we investigated the ability to form and use common ground during conversation in memory-impaired participants with hippocampal amnesia. Analyses of amnesics' eye fixations as they interpreted their partner's utterances about a set of objects demonstrated successful use of common ground when the amnesics had immediate access to common-ground information, but dramatic failures when they did not. These findings indicate a clear role for declarative memory in maintenance of common-ground representations. Even when amnesics were successful, however, the eye movement record revealed subtle deficits in resolving potential ambiguity among competing intended referents; this finding suggests that declarative memory may be critical to more basic aspects of the on-line resolution of linguistic ambiguity.
AB - Communication is aided greatly when speakers and listeners take advantage of mutually shared knowledge (i.e., common ground). How such information is represented in memory is not well known. Using a neuropsychological-psycholinguistic approach to real-time language understanding, we investigated the ability to form and use common ground during conversation in memory-impaired participants with hippocampal amnesia. Analyses of amnesics' eye fixations as they interpreted their partner's utterances about a set of objects demonstrated successful use of common ground when the amnesics had immediate access to common-ground information, but dramatic failures when they did not. These findings indicate a clear role for declarative memory in maintenance of common-ground representations. Even when amnesics were successful, however, the eye movement record revealed subtle deficits in resolving potential ambiguity among competing intended referents; this finding suggests that declarative memory may be critical to more basic aspects of the on-line resolution of linguistic ambiguity.
KW - cognitive neuroscience
KW - language
KW - memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=83055192096&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=83055192096&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0956797611418245
DO - 10.1177/0956797611418245
M3 - Article
C2 - 22123775
AN - SCOPUS:83055192096
VL - 22
SP - 1574
EP - 1582
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
SN - 0956-7976
IS - 12
ER -