Tip of the Tongue States

This book offers a novel perspective on the nature of tip-of-the-tongue states, linking classic work with new research developments.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of research on the tip-of-the-tongue state: the feeling that a word is on the verge of coming to mind. It will be of value to students and researchers in psychology, neuroscience, medicine and philosophy.The tip-of-the-tongue state-the feeling that something that we cannot recall is close to coming to mind-is a window onto many facets of the human mind. It lies at an intersection where memory mechanisms, language processes, attention, metacognition, conscious awareness, goal-driven behaviours, curiosity, and even decision-making and risk-taking all seem to cross. In this book, Anne Cleary and Bennett Schwartz explain how tip-of-the-tongue states fit into our overall cognitive systems and what they tell us about the nature of cognition and consciousness. The tip-of-the-tongue state can wield enormous power over our attentional focus and what we choose to do next, regardless of what we had been doing before the onset of the feeling. In short, it wields the ability to redirect our mind. Cleary and Schwartz's text will appeal to students and researchers interested in the workings of the mind and brain.