Psychology Dept. Research Seminar - Malgorzata Korko: “Cognitive control in language production”. Thurs 6th December 2018, BG09A

*** Everyone Welcome! No need to book in advance*** 

Date: Thursday 6^th December 2018
Time: 12:00-13:00 
Room: Building 9 BG09A
Malgorzata Korko (Middlesex University)  

Abstract:

Naming a common object, such as ‘cheese’, takes on average 600 milliseconds. In just over half a second, the speaker, or rather her brain, has performed a series of computations: It has decided on the to-be-conveyed message (CHEESE), accessed syntactic information of a selected lemma (“cheese” is a mass noun), retrieved and assembled its phonological segments ([tʃ][iː][z]) and translated the encoded message into a motor programme ready for articulation. In the ideal scenario, that is. But single word, and to a greater extent, multiple word production is far from ideal. As we speak, multiple concepts, lexical forms, sound forms and syntactic structures are activated that compete for our attention. How does the speaker manage the competing demands of online language production to select and ultimately produce the sought-after word or phrase? In this seminar, I will describe how language is produced in the brain and how this process is supported by cognitive functions from outside the language system. I will present data from two studies that integrate experimental and individual differences methods to argue for multiple types of interference that are resolved through shared yet partly distinct cognitive control mechanisms.

~ This talk is aimed at anyone interested in psychology, especially cognitive psychology and language production.  

Students are encouraged to attend.

Attendance would benefit both undergraduate and postgraduate research students from psychology and related fields ~

Biography:

Malgorzata received a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from University of Warsaw, Poland. Fascinated with language as a “special” cognitive ability,  she went on to study Cognitive Science (BSc) at University of Westminster, London, where she also completed an MSc in Applied Cognitive Neuroscience. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Middlesex University, exploring the interaction between language and executive functions. In her work she integrates experimental and individual differences methods to investigate the role of inhibitory control in the selection of words and construction of longer utterances. She believes a better understating of psychological processes underlying language production will help develop programmes that both enhance language skills in neuro-typical speakers and restore impaired language function in certain clinical populations. A study of language can also inform theories of broader cognition.