ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the importance of using psycholinguistic theories and models to support analysis of clinical data. Guendouzi draws on Relevance Theory, formulaic language, and the notion of cognitive schemas to explore qualitative data involving conversations with people with dementia (PWD). The analyses of the data suggests that theories/models more commonly associated with experimental or conceptual research can help to identify patterns of miscommunication in PWD. Furthermore, such theories can help to explain the way in which the language processing system (LPS) of people with acquired cognitive disorders still attempts to create relevance for a conversational context despite lack of access to all the cognitive resources required to interpret language. The data and analyses presented suggests there is a need for greater reference to psycholinguistic theories when researching clinical populations.
