Biography
My work investigates inference making. I am especially taken with the way logical terms -- for example if, and, not, or, Some, must, etc. -- are processed. Though my background is in the psychology of reasoning, it became clear to me early on that analyses from linguistics -- and specifically semantics and pragmatics -- need to be considered as well. This led to a research program called Experimental Pragmatics that was developed in collaboration with Dan Sperber.Following up on the pioneering work of researchers such as Guy Politzer, Sam Glucksberg, Herb Clark, Ray Gibbs & Tony Sanford, this area tests semantic and pragmatic theory using a panoply of experimental techniques from psycholinguistics, developmental psychology and neuro-imagery. Though my main focus has been on logical terms, I investigate issues of reasoning and pragmatics more generally (including figurative language).
To see my publications from the last ten years, click Publications under my name on the left.