The University of Arizona
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Vicky Tzuyin Lai

Associate Professor, Psychology | Associate Professor, Cognitive Science | Associate Professor, Cognitive Science - GIDP | Associate Professor, Second Language Acquisition / Teaching - GIDP | Member of the Graduate Faculty

Psychology

About

Dr. Lai uses behavioral and neuroscience brainwave activities, neural imaging) methods to study meaning and language in context. Specifically, there are three lines of research: 1) Figurative language: How do people process metaphorical language? What is the role of metaphor in embodied view of language? What are the social-affective functions of metaphors? 2) Emotion and language: How is emotion encoded in language? How do language activities such as reading give rise to emotion? How do readers’ mood states influence meaning making in language? 3) Language and thought in bilinguals: Do people who speak two languages that have conflicting semantic constructs perceive and reason about the world differently?

Research Area

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    Recent

    • Neural Basis of Language

    • Cognitive Neuroscience: A Guide to Mind and Brain

    • Issues and Themes in Cognitive Science

    • Topics in Psycholinguistics

    • Language and Thought: A Cognitive Psychology/Neuroscience Perspective