Written by a professional writer and researcher, Julie Sedivy's Language in Mind, Second Edition provides an exceptionally accessible introduction to the challenging task of learning psycholinguistic research, theory, and application. Offering a research-based approach-supported by the new "Researchers at Work" feature which shows the process of conducting an experiment-Language in Mind emphasizes not just what psycholinguists know, but how they've come to know it. To deepen the student's exposure to research and scientific thinking, which is an important skill in follow-up courses, the text also includes a critical examination of primary literature and the debates in the field (supported by the in-text "Digging Deeper" feature; and online with Web Activities and "Language at Large" modules). To complete the study of psycholinguistics, the text establishes connections between theory and everyday phenomena (supported by Boxes and "Questions to Contemplate" features). A robust
4-color illustration program distinguishes this book from others, and further explains and illustrates challenging material.
Review
For the previous edition: "This is a phenomenal textbook. Julie Sedivy writes with incredible clarity about the still relatively murky field of psycholinguistics. All the main areas of psycholinguistics are very accessibly covered." ―Judith Degen, Stanford University
"It's by far the best textbook on this subject. Sedivy's research background and her skills as a science writer make a great combination." ―Adele Goldberg, Princeton University
"Language in Mind is an introductory textbook that provides a broad perspective on psycholinguistics in an engaging and accessible way. I highly recommend it to both instructors and students who are looking for a good starting point for psycholinguistics or language science." ―Heeju Hwang, The Quarterly Review of Biology
"Designed as an undergraduate textbook, Language in Mind is an essential handbook for navigating the sea of text, images, and sound that comprise our communication environment. . . . Overall, the daunting complexities of brain and communication research are approached in a clear and instructive manner. Sedivy encourages readers to critically assess the experimental methods that produced our current knowledge, pushing students to devise their own methods to test hypotheses as well as providing model after model of how to determine the parameters and limitations of an experiment. It would be a joy to teach using this book." ―Gwyneth Sutherlin, London School of Economics and Political Science book review
About the Author
Julie Sedivy combines a strong background in academic research and teaching with a keen interest in scientific and literary writing for non-academic audiences. She received her Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Rochester, where she was involved in pioneering research in the use of eye movement methods for studying spoken language comprehension. She held an academic appointment in the Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences at Brown University from 1997 to 2009, where she continued her interdisciplinary research program, and garnered consistently outstanding teaching reviews. She has published more than thirty articles and chapters and has served as Associate Editor for Linguistics and Philosophy, and as Consulting Editor for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. She currently holds an adjunct appointment at the University of Calgary and divides her time between research/teaching and writing. She is the lead author of the popular science book Sold on
Language: How Advertisers Talk to You and What This Says About You (John Wiley and Sons), and blogs regularly for outlets such as Discover Magazine and Language Log.