Psychology of Language and Communication

This is a classic edition of Geoffrey Beattie’s and Andrew Ellis’ influential introduction to the psychology of human language and communication, now including a new reflective introduction from the authors. Drawing on elements from many sub-disciplines, including cognitive and social psychology, psycholinguistics and neuropsychology, the book offers an approach which breaches conventional disciplinary boundaries. Exploring the diverse nature of communication, Beattie and Ellis focus on the range of human communicative channels and the variations which occur both between and within societies and cultures.

Written from an informative and entertaining historical perspective, The Psychology of Language and Communication remains a key resource for anyone interested in the psychology of communication, language and linguistics, 30 years on from its first publication.

Geoffrey Beattie is Professor of Psychology at Edge Hill University. His research focusses primarily on embodied cognition/multi-modal communication and applied social psychology. He was Professor of Psychology at the University of Manchester from 1994 to 2012. He has presented a number of television series and given numerous keynote addresses to both academic and non-academic audiences.

Andrew Ellis is Emeritus Professor at the University of York where he worked from 1988 until his retirement in 2014. During his time at York he served five years as Head of Department and four as Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research. His research was primarily concerned with the psychological and neural processes underlying word, object and face recognition.