ABSTRACT
There are occasions when, despite adequate ability and motivation, people’s communication performance is less than optimal. This chapter examines the workings of the cognitive system involved in the production of message-relevant thought and behavior as a potential source of performance deficits. The essential premise is that processes of retrieval and subsequent integration of information from long-term memory underlie certain types of performance lapses. The details of these information retrieval and integration processes are given in action assembly theory (AAT). The AAT specification of relevant cognitive structures (i.e., procedural records, unitized assemblies, output representation) and processes (i.e., activation, assembly) is then employed to identify specific message-production difficulties associated with: (a) misinterpretation of situational features, (b) retrieval failures, delays, and intrusions, and (c) assembly-based problems of information integration.
