Language, Perspective, and Memory
Title
Language, Perspective, and Memory
Author
Ryskin, Rachel A.
Yoon, Si On
Brown‐Schmidt, Sarah
Research Area
Cognition and Emotions
Topic
Language
Abstract
The ability to take the perspective of another person is ubiquitous in many everyday cognitive activities. In particular, it allows people to communicate efficiently with conversational partners. Speakers tailor what they say based on the listener's knowledge and, likewise, listeners use what they know about the speaker to better understand what the speaker means. In this essay, we review foundational research on the role of perspective‐taking in the domain of language processing and describe new lines of work that are beginning to explore the memory processes that support the efficient use of perspectives in conversation. We then discuss key avenues for future research, such as investigating whether the type of perspective‐taking involved in creating memory reminders draws on the same underlying cognitive processes as in the domain of language processing. Exploring this interface between language, perspective‐taking, and memory will require interdisciplinary crosstalk and integration of methodologies across the domains of memory and language research.