SPP 1409 - Subproject: Effects of Lexical Encoding on Laypersons’ Processing of Scientific Information in Online Discourse

Basic data for this project

Description

In order to process scientific findings appropriately, laypersons must be able to distinguish between the surface meaning (as communicated by the lexical encoding) and the semantic content of technical terms. This project seeks to examine the extent to which laypersons gain a sophisticated understanding of scientific concepts communicated through technical terms in online discussions on depressive disorders. Based on the phenomenon of lexical alignment, we expect the usage of identical technical terms by interlocutors to hinder the development of a sophisticated understanding of scientific concepts. However, if alignment on a content level between communicators is hampered, exchange about the technical terms‘ underlying concepts should be more intensive. Furthermore, we will examine whether laypersons construct a more complex representation of technical terms that are indicated by linguistic markers of tentativeness (i.e., hedges such as “a form of”) than for those that are not marked. The proposed project draws on theoretical approaches from educational psychology, in which the social construction of knowledge is seen to occur as a result of processes of cognitive conflict and solution, as well as on the communication psychology literature on lexical alignment and its influence on discourse.