Sentence Comprehension as a Cognitive Process
A Computational Approach

Presents a computational model of sentence processing that is grounded in decades of research in cognitive psychology and AI.

Shravan Vasishth (Author), Felix Engelmann (Author)

9781107133112, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 November 2021

300 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

Sentence comprehension - the way we process and understand spoken and written language - is a central and important area of research within psycholinguistics. This book explores the contribution of computational linguistics to the field, showing how computational models of sentence processing can help scientists in their investigation of human cognitive processes. It presents the leading computational model of retrieval processes in sentence processing, the Lewis and Vasishth cue-based retrieval mode, and develops a principled methodology for parameter estimation and model comparison/evaluation using benchmark data, to enable researchers to test their own models of retrieval against the present model. It also provides readers with an overview of the last 20 years of research on the topic of retrieval processes in sentence comprehension, along with source code that allows researchers to extend the model and carry out new research. Comprehensive in its scope, this book is essential reading for researchers in cognitive science.

1. Introduction
2. Dependencies in Sentence Comprehension
3. The Core ACT-R Based Model of Retrieval Processes
4. Extension: Prominence and Multi-Associative Cues
5. Extension: Eye-Movement Control and Parsing
6. Reanalysis and Underspecification
7. Competing Accounts of Interference in Sentence Processing
8. Modelling Sentence Comprehension Deficits in Aphasia
9. Future Directions.

Subject Areas: Computational linguistics [CFX], Psycholinguistics [CFD]