Sentence Comprehension (P00497)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : PPL-P-SCPSY

This course is designed to provide an advanced understanding of current psycholinguistic research in sentence comprehension. We study the nature of the human sentence processor, looking at its architecture particularly in relation to the mechanisms used to resolve syntactic and semantic ambiguities. Methodological and theoretical issues are considered alongside each other.

The course pays special attention to evidence for the ways in which different types of information come into play as sentences are understood, looking in turn at syntactic, semantic, and frequency information and their effects on the processing of local and long-distance (unbounded) dependencies. Evidence is presented from studies which use a number of methodologies, including self-paced reading, eyetracking, and event-related potentials (ERPs).

Where relevant, we will discuss the interaction between sentence processing and other levels of processing, such as lexical processing.

Venue: 1.01 Dugald Stewart Building

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Psychology, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Block 2 only

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
07/11/2008	09:00	11:00			1.01 Dugald Stewart Building

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Friday	09:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will obtain an advanced understanding of the core issues in current research on sentence processing. They will understand some of the key findings relating to garden path sentences, unbounded dependencies, and syntactic and semantic anomalies, and they will appreciate the main experimental techniques that are used in the field.

Students will also be able to evaluate the primary scientific literature critically and independently. These skills are essential for students to be able to design their own research projects and to write clear and persuasive scholarly reports.