Psychology Faculty Profiles
William S. Horton [Sid], Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Cognitive Psychology
Office: Swift 217
Phone: (847) 467-1293
E-mail: whorton@northwestern.edu
Research Interests
My research investigates the processes and memory representations underlying routine language use. Much of my work falls within the domain of pragmatics, the study of the social and contextual factors that affect how people use and understand language. I have carried out this agenda in two parallel domains: one domain concerns the role of common ground and memory processes in language production, while the other relates to the role of extralinguistic information in text processing. Currently, I am extending my research by examining potential age-related changes in language use.
Selected Publications
Horton, W. S. (in press). The influence of partner-specific memory associations on language production: Evidence from picture naming. Language and Cognitive processes.[preprint]
Horton, W. S., & Spieler, D. H. (2007). Age-related differences in communication and audience design. Psychology and Aging, 22, 281-290.[pdf]
Horton, W. S. (2007). Metaphor and readers' attributions of intimacy. Memory & Cognition, 35, 87-94.[pdf]
Horton, W. S., & Gerrig, R. J. (2005). Conversational common ground and memory processes in language production. Discourse Processes, 40, 1-35.[pdf]
Horton, W. S., & Gerrig, R. J. (2005). The impact of memory demands on audience design during language production. Cognition, 96, 127-142.[pdf]
Gerrig, R.J., & Horton, W.S. (2005). Contextual expressions and common ground. In H. L. Colston & A. N. Katz (Eds.), Figurative language comprehension: Social and cultural influences (pp. 43-70). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Horton, W. S., & Rapp, D. N. (2003). Out of sight, out of mind: Occlusion and the accessibility of information in narrative comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 10, 104-110.[pdf]
