Subcortical Structures
and Cognition

Chapter 6

Automaticity and Higher Order Control in Communication: A Brief Introduction to Language and Social Cognition

 

Language and social behavior are frequently assumed to be under the higher-order control of cortex. This chapter reviews the evidence for applying dual-control models in the mediation of language and social behavior.

While traditional neuropsychology organizes cognition within a verbal-nonverbal dichotomy, this chapter proposes that cognition and behavior are organized along a principle of novelty versus routinization. Both language and social cognition contain elements of automaticity and the ability to manage novelty. The evidence for the role of subcortical functions in language and social cognition is reviewed.