Kathryn Bock , Ph.D.

When mind meets mouth

Human communication allows people to create precise changes in other minds. This happens not through mind-melding or extrasensory perception but, most commonly, through normal human language use. In psycholinguistic terms, what is the nature of the human ability to convey specific ideas to specific listeners in specific circumstances? Contemporary research on how people talk explores the cognitive capacities and limitations behind the ability to put thoughts into words.