Maria Osina

Graduate Student
Research Area: Developmental Science

The primary focus of my research is language comprehension in young children and adults.  With infants I study their ability to comprehend references to absent objects. In particular, I am interested in ways their memory and representational abilities shape their language comprehension. 

With adults and preschoolers I study the relation between grammatical structures and mental representation. Specifically, I am interested in how the choice of syntax affects what the listener represents when processing speech. I am also interested in how the speaker’s perceived situation influences the choice of grammatical structures.

Overall I favor modal views on language comprehension and plan to study more closely processes like mental simulation and imagery during word, sentence and text processing at different ages.