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The Tip of the Tongue State (Essays in Cognitive Psychology) PDF

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The Tip of the Tongue State ESSAYS IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY North American Editors: Henry L. Roediger, III, Washington University in St. Louis James R. Pomerantz, Rice University European Editors: Alan D. Baddeley, University of York Vicki Bruce, University of Edinburgh Jonathan Grainger, Université de Provence Essays in Cognitive Psychology is designed to meet the need for rapid publication of brief vol- umes in cognitive psychology. Primary topics will include perception, movement and action, attention, memory, mental representation, language, and problem solving. Furthermore, the series seeks to define cognitive psychology in its broadest sense, encompassing all topics either informed by, or informing, the study of mental processes. As such, it covers a wide range of subjects including computational approaches to cognition, cognitive neuroscience, social cognition, and cognitive development, as well as areas more traditionally defined as cogni- tive psychology. Each volume in the series will make a conceptual contribution to the topic by reviewing and synthesizing the existing research literature, advancing theory in the area, or some combination of these missions. The principal aim is that authors will provide overviews of their own highly successful research program in an area. It is also expected that volumes will, to some extent, include an assessment of current knowledge and identification of possi- ble future trends in research. Each book will be a self-contained unit supplying the advanced reader with a well-structured review of the work described and evaluated. ForThcomINg Lampinen, Neuschatz & Cling: Psychology of Eyewitness Identification Schmidt: Extraordinary Memories of Exceptional Events Butler & Kang: The Mnemonic Benefits of Retrieval Practice Weaver: Flashbulb Memory PublIshEd Brown: The Tip of the Tongue State Worthen & Hunt: Mnemonology: Mnemonics for the 21st Century Surprenant & Neath: Principles of Memory Kensinger: Emotional Memory Across the Lifespan Millar: Space and Sense Evans: Hypothetical Thinking Gallo: Associative Illusions of Memory Cowan: Working Memory Capacity McNamara: Semantic Priming Brown: The Déjà Vu Experience Coventry & Garrod: Saying, Seeing and Acting Robertson: Space, Objects, Minds, and Brains Cornoldi & Vecchi: Visuo-spatial Working Memory and Individual Differences Sternberg, et al.: The Creativity Conundrum Poletiek: Hypothesis-testing Behaviour Garnham: Mental Models and the Interpretations of Anaphora For updated information about published and forthcoming titles in the Essays in Cognitive Psychology series, please visit: www.psypress.com/essays The Tip of the Tongue State ALAN S. BROWN Psychology Press New York London Psychology Press Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group 711 Third Avenue 27 Church Road New York, NY 10017 Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA © 2012 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Psychology Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Version Date: 20110617 International Standard Book Number: 978-1-84169-444-3 (Hardback) For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www. copyright.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organiza- tion that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the Psychology Press Web site at http://www.psypress.com CONTENTS Preface vii Chapter 1 historical background 1 Chapter 2 defining a ToT 5 Chapter 3 Eliciting and measuring ToTs 3 1 Chapter 4 manipulating ToT Probability 6 5 Chapter 5 Partial Target Word Information 8 1 Chapter 6 dimensions of ToT Target Words 9 9 Chapter 7 Interlopers 111 Chapter 8 resolving ToTs 123 Chapter 9 Etiology 153 Chapter 10 Individual differences 171 Chapter 11 summary 195 references 207 Author Index 221 subject Index 227 v PrEfACE memory problems are both fascinating and frightening. Fast and effi- cient retrieval of information is personally satisfying. When retrieval fails, it can be disturbing, confusing, and challenging, but it also provides research scientists with valuable clues into the complexities of routine cognitive experience. A personal fascination with the peripheral edges of memory function has led me to examine phenomena such as unconscious plagiarism (brown & murphy, 1989), transient amnesic states in normal adults (brown, 1998), losing track of hidden valuables (brown & rahhal, 1994), déjà vu (brown, 2003, 2004), and the tip of the tongue (ToT) experi- ence (brown, 1991). This book is a continuation of an earlier quest to better understand ToTs, one that began over two decades ago. some suggest that ToTs reflect an aberrant event, “… telling us about what happens on the rare occasions that lexicalization falters or fails, rather than about what happens when it succeeds” (harley & bown, 1998, p. 165). however, I believe that it embodies a normal function that is dra- matically sidetracked, slowed, stalled, or incomplete. As such, ToTs pro- vide a unique picture of an otherwise very rapid and automatic behavior, “… similar to how slow-motion photography clarifies the dimensions of a hummingbird’s flight” (brown, 1991, p. 204). my prior review covered the first 25 years of published research on the ToT experience (brown, 1991). since then, the literature on this topic has quadrupled and continues to grow at an ever-increasing pace. The num- ber of published articles with “tip of the tongue” or “ToT” in the title has essentially doubled decade by decade, expanding from 7 articles in the 1970s to over 70 in the 2000s. A previous book on the ToT experience by bennett schwartz (2002b) provides an excellent summary of the state of the field at that point, and mine adds to his in several ways. First, over 85 new articles have appeared since schwartz’s book was published, and entire new areas of investigation have opened up, such as drugs that might be related to ToTs, the influence of gestures in eliciting and resolving ToTs, what areas of the brain light up during ToTs, and how the grammatical class of an interloper influences vii viii Preface a ToT, just to name a few. A second difference is that schwartz’s primary focus is on the theoretical speculation related to ToT states, whereas my main emphasis is on empirical findings. Although theory and etiology are important, I believe that we can better understand this phenomenon by focusing primarily on the functionalistic aspects of the experience (cf. Watkins, 1990). Alan S. Brown 1 C H A P T E R Historical Background It is fitting to begin this book with the oft-cited description of the ToT experience written over a century ago by James (1893). he compellingly describes the manner in which we fail to grasp something just beyond our momentary linguistic reach, like having a stepstool too short to reach an item that we know to be up there, on the top shelf. suppose we try to recall a forgotten name. The state of our conscious- ness is peculiar. There is a gap therein; but no mere gap. It is a gap that is intensively active. A sort of wraith of the name is in it, beck- oning us in a given direction, making us at moments tingle with the sense of our closeness, and then letting us sink back without the longed-for term. If wrong names are proposed to us, this singularly definite gap acts immediately so as to negate them. They do not fit into its mould. And the gap of one word does not feel like the gap of another, all empty of content as both might seem necessarily to be when described as gaps. … The rhythm of a lost word may be there without a sound to clothe it; or the evanescent sense of something which is the initial vowel or consonant may mock us fitfully, without growing more distinct. (James, 1893, pp. 163–164) Incidentally, this description appeared in a chapter on “the stream of consciousness,” rather than one on memory. In contrast to this rather poetic view of ToTs, Angell (1908), who was a contemporary of James, presents a more jaded perspective on what ToTs mean: I know my friend’s middle name perfectly well, and yet when asked for it a moment ago, I could not command it. some momentary stop- page of the associated pathways in the cortex checked the attempt at recall. many of the most serious disorders of insanity involve this 1

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