Si On Yoon, an assistant professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, takes a cognitive science approach to the study of complex language processes. Before joining NYU in fall 2023, Yoon was an assistant professor at the University of Iowa.
What are your main research foci?
I study how people use language in social interactions or communications. The way we speak is very different depending on who we’re talking to, such as children vs. adults, colleagues vs. strangers, or one person vs. many. It’s natural to adapt how we speak depending on who we’re talking to or what we’re talking about, and most of the time we’re pretty successful at it. But sometimes we fail to do that or assume the wrong knowledge about our conversational partner, and I study the underlying cognitive mechanisms that support those interactions.
Another line of my research deals with how memory plays an important role in communication, including what you know and drawing on your past conversational experiences. I work particularly with people with memory impairments, such as amnesia or dementia, to see how their memory plays a role in their communication. By comparing their performance to people without memory issues, I hope to eventually develop intervention programs to facilitate better communication in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
What are you looking forward to as part of the CSD team?
My PhD and postdoc work were in cognitive psychology, so by being a part of this department, I’m excited about the diversity of research and applied work. I’m looking forward to the collaborative opportunities not only with faculty and students within CSD, but also other departments at NYU and institutions across New York City.
