Date: Thursday, 2 February 2023, 14:15 pm to 15:45 pm
Venue: C601, Bismarckstr. 1
About: This event is organized by the RTG Dimensions of Constructional Space.
Title: Individual differences in language skills
About the speaker: Florian Hintz is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. His research focuses on the Individual Differences in Language Skills, investigating why people differ in how they speak, listen, and read, and how this variation reflects differences in linguistic knowledge (e.g., vocabulary, reading experience) and general cognitive skills (e.g., processing speed, working memory, non-verbal reasoning).
Abstract
Individual differences in language processing are prevalent in our daily lives. However, for decades, psycholinguistic research has largely ignored variation in the normal range of abilities. Recently, scientists have begun to acknowledge the importance of inter-individual variability for a comprehensive characterization of the language system. In spite of this change of attitude, empirical research on individual differences is still sparse, which is in part due to the lack of a suitable research tool. I will present a novel battery of behavioral tests for assessing individual differences in Dutch language skills in younger adults. I will first describe the structure of the battery and its theoretical foundations. I will then report on our efforts in norming the battery. Finally, I will zoom in on one application of the test data that addressed the role of domain-general processing speed in language production.