Tip-of-the-tongue States : Phenomenology, Mechanism, and Lexical Retrieval

Tip-of-the-Tongue experiences are one of those illusive oddities of human cognition. Like slips of the tongue, deja vu, and visual illusions, TOTs dazzle us with their subjective strength, yet, at the same time, puzzle us with our frustrating inability to retrieve the desired word. This book discusses what little is known about TOTs and speculates about much of the rest of the riddle. Cognitive psychologists know a lot about processes but generally avoid issues of conscious experience and phenomenology. Because the larger goal of this book is to relate the TOT experience to the study of human phenomenology, it goes beyond the conventional cognitive psychology question, "What causes tip-of-the-tongue experiences?" to ask, "Why do we experience TOTs at all?" Tip-of-the-Tongue experiences are one of those illusive oddities of human cognition. Like slips of the tongue, deja vu, and visual illusions, TOTs dazzle us with their subjective strength, yet, at the same time, puzzle us with our frustrating inability to retrieve the desired word. This book discusses what little is known about TOTs and speculates about much of the rest of the riddle. Cognitive psychologists know a lot about processes but generally avoid issues of conscious experience and phenomenology. Because the larger goal of this book is to relate the TOT experience to the study of human phenomenology, it goes beyond the conventional cognitive psychology question, "What causes tip-of-the-tongue experiences?" to ask, "Why do we experience TOTs at all?" 1. Introduction: What Is A Tot? -- Descriptions And Anecdotes -- Definitions -- Brown And Mcneill (1966): Seminal Research On Tots -- Doctrine Of Concordance -- 2. Properties Of Naturally-occurring Tots -- Tots Are Naturally-occurring Experiences -- Universality Of Tots -- Tots In The Field: Tot Diaries -- Tot Phenomenology -- 3. Theories Of Tot Etiology -- Direct-access Theories -- Inferential Views -- 4. Tots As A Window On Retrieval -- Models Of Lexical Retrieval -- Tots And Theories Of Bilingual Semantic Representation -- Relation Of Gestures, Tots, And Word Retrieval -- Tip-of-the-pen Phenomenon In Chinese Writing -- 5. Theories Of Metacognition -- Monitoring And Control -- 6. Functional Aspects Of The Tot -- Monitoring And Tots -- Monitoring And Control Theory And Inferential Models Of Tot Etiology -- Tots As Control Mechanisms -- Tots And Other Control Features -- 7. Tots, Development, And Neuropsychological Issues -- Tots And Aging -- Decrement Theory Versus Incremental Knowledge Theory -- Tots In Children -- Tots In Patient Populations -- 8. Conclusions And Directions For The Future -- Word On Consciousness -- Related Phenomena -- Final Word On Tots. Bennett L. Schwartz. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 165-174) And Indexes. Tip-of-the-Tongue experiences are one of those illusive oddities of human cognition. Like slips of the tongue, déjà vu, and visual illusions, TOTs dazzle us with their subjective strength, yet, at the same time, puzzle us with our frustrating inability to retrieve the desired word. This book discusses what little is known about TOTs and speculates about much of the rest of the riddle. Cognitive psychologists know a lot about processes but generally avoid issues of conscious experience and phenomenology. Because the larger goal of this book is to relate the TOT experience to the study of human phenomenology, it goes beyond the conventional cognitive psychology question,'What causes tip-of-the-tongue experiences?'to ask,'Why do we experience TOTs at all?' At this time, Schwartz (Florida International U.) tells us, there is no known method for overcoming the frustrating event he calls tip-of- the-tongue (TOT) states--knowing a word but not being able to remember or say it. Writing for cognitive psychologists, philosophers of science, and language researchers working in memory and psycholinguistic issues, Schwartz presents a thorough summary of the research on the TOT phenomenon. He draws on his own research as well as he discusses theories of metacognition, TOTs on retrieval, the experience of bi- and multilingual speakers, theories of TOT etiology, neuropsychological issues, and functional aspects. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 1 What is a TOT?......Page 12 2 The Properties of Naturally-Occurring TOTs......Page 30 3 Theories of TOT Etiology......Page 59 4 TOTs as a Window on Retrieval......Page 82 5 Theories of Metacognition......Page 103 6 Functional Aspects of the TOT......Page 120 7 TOTs, Development, and Neuropsychological Issues......Page 137 8 Conclusions and Directions for the Future......Page 162 References......Page 168 Author Index......Page 178 Subject Index......Page 182 Several years ago, I was in a bookstore looking for a birthday present for my aunt, a clinical psychologist in Boston.