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Tip-of-the-tongue States

Phenomenology, Mechanism, and Lexical Retrieval

Tip-of-the-tongue States

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Tip-of-the-Tongue experiences are one of those illusive oddities of human cognition. Like slips of the tongue, déjà vu, and visual illusions, TOTs dazzle us with their subjective strength, yet, at the same time, puzzle us with our frustrating inability to retrieve the desired word. This book discusses what little is known about TOTs and speculates about much of the rest of the riddle. Cognitive psychologists know a lot about processes but generally avoid issues of conscious experience and phenomenology. Because the larger goal of this book is to relate the TOT experience to the study of human phenomenology, it goes beyond the conventional cognitive psychology question, "What causes tip-of-the-tongue experiences?" to ask, "Why do we experience TOTs at all?"

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface. Introduction: What Is a TOT? The Properties of Naturally-Occurring TOTs. Theories of TOT Etiology. TOTs as a Window on Retrieval. Theories of Metacognition. Functional Aspects of the TOT. TOTs, Development, and Neuropsychological Issues. Conclusions and Directions for the Future.