Cohort Model

Definition

The cohort model is a theoretical framework used in psycholinguistics to explain how listeners identify words during speech processing. It suggests that as a person hears the initial sounds of a word, they activate a set of potential candidates (the cohort) that could match those sounds, narrowing down the possibilities as more phonetic information is received. This model highlights the dynamic and interactive nature of language processing, where context and prior knowledge influence understanding.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The cohort model posits that word recognition is an incremental process, where candidates are eliminated based on the incoming acoustic information.
2. This model accounts for the influence of context by allowing previous knowledge to help narrow down which words are likely being heard.
3. It suggests that the initial phonetic input activates a wide range of potential words, which gradually reduces as more sounds are heard.
4. Research supporting the cohort model has shown that listeners can be quicker to recognize words when they have contextual clues or prior familiarity with them.
5. The cohort model has been influential in developing other theories of speech perception and understanding how ambiguity in speech can be resolved.

Review Questions

• How does the cohort model explain the process of word recognition during spoken language comprehension?
  • The cohort model explains word recognition as an incremental process, where listeners activate a group of possible words based on the initial sounds they hear. As more phonetic information becomes available, candidates that do not match are eliminated from consideration. This highlights how listeners use both the auditory input and their prior knowledge to identify words efficiently, demonstrating a dynamic interaction between perception and cognition.
• Discuss the implications of the cohort model for understanding lexical access in natural language processing.
  • The cohort model has significant implications for understanding lexical access because it shows that recognizing words is not a linear process but involves dynamic interaction between multiple potential candidates. This means that effective lexical access relies on not only recognizing phonetic input but also on using contextual clues and previous knowledge to resolve ambiguity. The model emphasizes that our mental lexicon is highly organized, allowing quick retrieval under real-time processing conditions.
• Evaluate how the cohort model addresses challenges posed by phonetic variability and context in spoken language comprehension.
  • The cohort model effectively addresses challenges posed by phonetic variability and context by emphasizing its adaptive nature in word recognition. It acknowledges that different speakers may produce sounds differently due to accents or speech patterns, but listeners can still identify words by activating a cohort of possibilities. Additionally, contextual factors help listeners prioritize certain candidates over others, thereby streamlining comprehension even in cases of ambiguity or unclear articulation. This adaptability illustrates how the cognitive processes involved in understanding spoken language are resilient and context-sensitive.

Related terms

Lexical Access: The process by which listeners retrieve the meaning of a word from their mental lexicon as they hear it in spoken language.

Phoneme:

The smallest unit of sound in speech that can distinguish one word from another.

Bottom-Up Processing: A method of processing where comprehension starts with the sensory input, building up to understanding without preconceived notions.