Sarah Brown-Schmidt

Sarah Brown-Schmidt is a Professor of Psychology & Human Development at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on language and memory processes in interactive conversation, particularly examining perspective-taking, conversational pragmatics, and how memory impairments (e.g., TBI, Alzheimer's) affect language use. She employs innovative methods like targeted language games and eye-tracking to study real-time language processing.

Her work explores three core themes: (1) how speakers' knowledge of conversational partners' knowledge guides language use, (2) memory mechanisms supporting language production/understanding, and (3) the cognitive stages linking ideas to speech. Collaborations with Dr. Melissa Duff investigate hippocampal-dependent memory's role in language processing in clinical populations.

Recent studies examine narrative recall deficits in TBI patients, effects of alcohol on conversational common ground, and singular they pronoun usage. Methodologically, she develops advanced statistical models (e.g., generalized additive mixed models) for analyzing intensive eye-tracking data.

Her lab focuses on applied cognitive science with implications for legal testimony, AI-human communication, and clinical interventions for neurocognitive disorders. Current projects include exploring social media's cognitive impacts and memory for conversational evidence in legal contexts.