ABSTRACT
A key method enabling naturalistic studies of language processing is the use of task-based conversation. Many standard approaches to the study of language processing employ methodologies that examine the production and comprehension of language in isolation, where an experimental participant functions only in the role of speaker or listener, and the linguistic stimuli are highly controlled. Studying the mechanisms of language processing in conversation will allow the researchers to test whether theories developed on the basis of findings from standard paradigms extend to natural conversation. A potentially fruitful research strategy is the pairing of experimentally well-controlled studies with less constrained, conversationally situated ones. Studies of multiparty conversation, including computer-mediated discussions, will add to researchers' understanding of the cognitive limits on the representation of perspective, and how group dynamics influence conversational processes. Studies that manipulate the mode of communication have been used to explore the relative contributions of audio and visual sources of information in referential communication.
