Prediction a piece of cake – really?

Nivedita Mani
University of Göttingen, Psychology of Language

Predictive brain models view predictive processing as central to most cognitive functions and neural systems and a prerequisite to the processing of information in our environment, including more recently, our processing of language. In keeping with this view, much research, including my own work, finds evidence of predictive language processing in even young language users at two-years of age. In this talk, however, I question the importance of predictive processing for language processing using a series of studies showing that not all users similarly predict upcoming language input and that variation in predictive processing need not necessarily covary with variation in language processing. Furthermore, in examining the different pathways to such predictive processing, I note that predictive language processing is itself highly susceptible to outside influences and may not be best captured by a one-size-fits-all model.