Postgraduate Course: Language Processing in the Visual World (PSYL11038)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Psychology |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Language comprehension often takes place in the context of a complex visual world, with utterances making reference to objects and events in the immediate visual environment. In this course, we will focus on two basic questions:
(1) How does the language comprehension system connect linguistic information to co-present visual information during online processing, and
(2) What effect does linking visual and linguistic content have on resulting memory representations? These questions can be approached using a variety of methods, and these will be evaluated in detail. One popular technique is eye movement monitoring, which allows psycholinguists to record the objects people examine as they listen to speech. It is often found that people look at objects as they are mentioned and sometimes even before (if objects can be anticipated given the linguistic input). We will discuss the implications of these findings for theories of cognitive architecture and we'll consider what factors might modulate these tendencies.
The first meeting will present an overview of the so-called Visual World Paradigm, the assumptions behind its use, and the main findings that have emerged from the studies employing it. In the following meetings, we will critically evaluate this work by considering papers from the literature on visual cognition, oculomotor control, and attention. We will end by considering what sorts of studies could be done to further illuminate the links between language and vision, especially in realistically complex linguistic and visual environments.
Venue: 1.01 Dugald Stewart Building
(Tutorials: 1.01 Dugald Stewart Building) |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will obtain an advanced understanding of spoken language comprehension, eye movements in scenes, the relationship between eye movements and attention, and the interactions between language and vision. Students will understand some key findings in sentence comprehension, scene processing, and eye movements. Consideration of these literatures will allow students to read primary scientific literature in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology independently and critically. These skills are essential for students to be able to design their own research projects and to write clear and persuasive scholarly reports. |
Assessment Information
| One 3,000 word essay and satisfactory course presentation |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: |
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