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Structural priming, action planning, and grammar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2017

Maryellen C. MacDonald
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53705. mcmacdonald@wisc.eduhttp://lcnl.wisc.edu/index.php/people/maryellen-c-macdonald/
Daniel J. Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. djw21@psu.eduhttp://psych.la.psu.edu/directory/djw21

Abstract

Structural priming is poorly understood and cannot inform accounts of grammar for two reasons. First, those who view performance as grammar + processing will always be able to attribute psycholinguistic data to processing rather than grammar. Second, structural priming may be simply an example of hysteresis effects in general action planning. If so, then priming offers no special insight into grammar.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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