When A Word Is On The Tip Of Our Tongue, We Are More Likely To Take Risks

By Matthew Warren “What’s the name of that actor again? The one who was on that show? Oh, it’s right on the tip of my tongue..!” That “tip-of-the-tongue” state — where we feel that we’re just on the verge of recalling a word or name — is probably familiar to us all. And it’s been the subject of much research by psycholinguists, who think it happens when we’re able to retrieve a concept or meaning, but not translate that into the letters and sounds of a word. Now a new study in Memory & Cognition has found that when people experience tip-of-the-tongue states, they also become more likely to take risks — suggesting that the phenomenon can exert a surprising influence on completely unrelated behaviour. Researchers already knew that tip-of-the-tongue states were associated with a “positivity bias”. When people are unable to recall a word or name, but feel like they are on the verge of getting it, they are more likely to believe that that word is positive, for instance, or that the name belongs to an ethical person. This might seem paradoxical, given that the phenomenon is often accompanied by a sense of frustration — but researchers have suggested that there is also a positive element to the experience. Compared to a complete inability to recall a word, having it on the tip of your tongue might give a sense of excitement, or an encouraging feeling that you have relevant knowledge, even if you can’t quite bring it to mind. So, the logic goes, ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Decision making Language Source Type: blogs