Neuropsychology of Communication

Category       : E-Books

Author          : Michela Balconi

Publisher      : Springer

Year              : 2008

Page              : 228

Language      : English

File Type       : Pdf

Size               : 1,757 MB

Review      : Communication has become, in recent years, an autonomous field of theoretical reflection and a proficient research perspective, independent of the study of language and instead focused on the ensemble of competencies needed to produce and comprehend language. This independence is evidenced by the growing interest in the communicative process, addressed by disciplines such as the social sciences, with specific regard to social cognition, and cognitive psychology, which examines the role of cognitive representation in communication regulation as well as the metacognitiv functions related to the self-other distinction in the regulation of conversational

demands. The role and meaning of communication are determined by the confluence of multiple contributions, which share the condition of an agent who is interacting with other agents such that the representational systems and relational contexts among agents are mutually modified.
The link between communication and the field of neuropsychology is of particular interest. However, in its recent development, the latter has only marginally considered issues relevant to communicative processes, focusing instead on linguistic ones. Much remains to be learned regarding the pragmatic skills of communication, which thus far have been only partially explored from a neuropsychological perspective.
Adequate theoretical and methodological tools with which to explore the complexity of communicative processes are still lacking. These processes include concepts such as the inferential model, mutual knowledge between speakers, and intentions decoding, and require the use of sophisticated instruments able to represent interpersonal contexts, the realm where communication operates. The need to distinguish between “closed” (within speakers’ minds) and “open” and “acted” highlights the importance of novel research domains, such as the newly developed field of neuropragmatics.