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Classic psycholinguistics seeks universal language mechanisms for all people, emphasizing the "modal" listener: hearing, neurotypical, monolingual, and young adults. Applied psycholinguistics then characterizes differences in terms of their deviation from the modal. This mirrors naturalist philosophies of health which presume a normal function, with illness as a deviation. In contrast, normative positions argue that illness is partially culturally derived. It occurs when a person cannot meet socio-culturally defined goals, separating differences in biology (disease) from socio-cultural function (illness). We synthesize this with mechanistic functionalist views in which language emerges from diverse lower-level mechanisms with no one-to-one mapping to function (termed the functional mechanistic normative approach). This challenges primarily psychometric approaches—which are culturally defined—suggesting a process-based approach may yield more insight. We illustrate this with work on word recognition across multiple domains: cochlear implant users, children, language disorders, L2 learners, and aging. This work investigates each group's solutions to the problem of word recognition as interesting in its own right. Variation in the process is value-neutral, and psychometric measures complement this, reflecting fit with cultural expectations (disease vs. illness). By examining variation in processing across people with a variety of skills and goals, we arrive at deeper insight into fundamental principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediction-based processes appear to play an important role in language. Few studies, however, have sought to test the relationship within individuals between prediction learning and natural language processing. This paper builds upon existing statistical learning work using a novel paradigm for studying the on-line learning of predictive dependencies. Within this paradigm, a new 'prediction task' is introduced that provides a sensitive index of individual differences for developing probabilistic sequential expectations. Across three interrelated experiments, the prediction task and results thereof are used to bridge knowledge of the empirical relation between statistical learning and language within the context of nonadjacency processing. We first chart the trajectory for learning nonadjacencies, documenting individual differences in prediction learning. Subsequent simple recurrent network simulations then closely capture human performance patterns in the new paradigm. Finally, individual differences in prediction performances are shown to strongly correlate with participants' sentence processing of complex, long-distance dependencies in natural language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on pediatric cochlear implantation has frequently shown that speech perception, speech production, and language outcomes are better for children who are implanted earlier in life than later. These findings are often explained on the grounds that earlier implantation takes advantage of a critical or sensitive period. This paper reviews the literature concerning sensitive periods within the framework of speech and language development. It particularly emphasizes two alternate mechanisms proposed for these periods: an experience-independent mechanism, and an experience-dependent mechanism. Based on this literature review we proposed that research in the field of pediatric cochlear implantation needs to carefully define what kind of evidence is needed to reflect a sensitive period for speech and language learning. The field also needs to consider designing studies that allow the viability of these two mechanisms to be tested. An example of such a study is provided within. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the commentaries on our article (J. P. Spencer et al., 2009 ), we summarize what a developmental systems perspective offers for a 21st-century science of development by highlighting 5 insights from developmental systems theory. Where applicable, the discussion is grounded in a particular example—the emergence of ocular dominance columns in early development. Ocular dominance columns are a paragon of epigenesis and are inconsistent with the nativist view. We conclude with optimism that developmental science can move beyond the nativist–empiricist debate armed with both modern technological tools and strong theory to guide their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]