Problem
A. Create five sentences containing temporary ambiguities. For example, Mary believed the boy was lying. For each, explain how and when the ambiguity is resolved.
B. Priming can be used not only by psycholinguists to study how language is organized in the brain, but also to tell jokes and annoy your friends. Here are two jokes. Try them out on a number of people and report on what percentage "fall for it." Begin my asking your friend to respond quickly without thinking as you rapidly say:
If a soft drink is a coke,
And a funny story is a joke,
What do you call the white of an egg?
You'll be amazed at how many people will answer "yolk," whereas the answer is something like "albumin."
After testing this out, discuss the following: What is priming? What does the way people respond to this joke tell us about the way language is stored in the brain? Can you identify another example of a time where priming led to a "wrong" response?
C. The investigation of individuals with brain damage has been a major source of information regarding the neural basis of language and other cognitive systems. One might suggest that this is like trying to understand how an automobile engine works by looking at damaged engines. Is this a good analogy? If so, why? If not, why not? In your answer, discuss how a damaged system can or cannot provide information about the normal system.