Dr. Jyotsna Vaid

Professor
Ph.D. McGill University (1982)

Department of Psychology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4235

Office: 267 Psychology Building
email: jxv@psyc.tamu.edu
Phone: (979) 845-2576
Fax: (979) 845-4727
Web: http://peopl...eb/lab.htm

• Psychology of language.
• Neuropsychological and cognitive aspects of bilingualism
• Creative language use
• Reading and writing - cross-linguistic approaches

Current projects address the following questions:
How does joke structure influence joke preference? How does proverb dialecticality affect proverb liking judgments across cultural groups? How does cultural identification influence humor beliefs and practices across languages? How do characteristics of semi-syllabic and logographic scripts influence the processing of alphabetic scripts?

2001-2002, Effects of first language orthography on first and second language reading: A comparison of Hindi-English vs. Urdu-English biliterate adults. Scholarly and Creative Activities Grant, Office of Vice President for Research, Texas A&M University

2002-2003, Hum Dekhenge: A digital archive by and about South Asian women. Humanities Informatics Project Seed Grant, Melbern J. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, Texas A&M University

2002-2004, Dynamique spatio-temporelle des processus impliques dans la comprehension et la production du langage [Spatio-temporal dynamics of processes involved in language comprehension and production]. Programme Cognitique, CNRS, Ministere de la Recherche, France, co-investigator with C. Frenck-Mestre and M. Besson, University of Provence

1. Hull, R. & Vaid, J. (2003). Clearing the cobwebs from the study of the bilingual brain: Converging evidence from laterality and electrophysiological research. In In J. Kroll & A.M.B. de Groot (Eds). Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches. Oxford University Press.



2. Vaid, J. & Padakannaya, P. (2003). Reading and writing in semi-syllabic scripts: An introduction. Reading and Writing



3. Vaid, J., Hull, M.R., Heredia, R., Gerkens, D. & Martinez, F. (2003). Getting a joke: The time course of meaning activation in verbal humor. Journal of Pragmatics, 35(9), 1431-1449.



4. Vaid, J. (2002). Humor and laughter. In V.S. Ramachandran (Ed). Encyclopedia of the human brain, Vol.2. (pp. 505-516). San Diego: Elsevier.



5. Vaid, J. & Hull, R. (2002). Re-envisioning the bilingual brain using functional neuroimaging: Methodological and interpretive issues. In F. Fabbro (Ed). In the Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: Essays in Honor of Michel Paradis. (pp. 315-355). Udine Forum: Udine University Press.



6. Vaid, J. (2002). Bilingualism. In V.S. Ramachandran (Ed). Encyclopedia of the human brain, Vol. 1. (pp. 417-434). San Diego: Elsevier.



7. Vaid, J. & Frenck-Mestre, C. (2002). Do orthographic cues aid language identification? A laterality study with French-English bilinguals. Brain and Language, 82, 47-53.



8. Vaid, J. & Gupta, A. (2002). Exploring word recognition in a semi-alphabetic script: The case of Devanagari. Brain and Language, 81, 679-690.



9. Vaid, J. & Ramachandran, V.S. (2001). Laughter and humor. In C. Blakemore and S. Jennett (Ed). Oxford Companion to the Body. (pp. 426-427). Oxford: Oxford University Press.



10. Vaid, J. (2001). New approaches to conceptual representations in bilingual memory: The case for studying humor interpretation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 3(1), 28-30.

Hull, R. & Vaid, J. (2003, April). A (continuing) tale of two hemispheres: A meta-analysis of bilingual language lateralization research. Panel on Recent Investigations of the Bilingual Brain, Fourth International Symposium on Bilingualism, University of Arizona.

Frenck-Mestre, C. Anton, J.L., Roth, M., Massion, J., N'Gyuen, N., Vaid, J., J.F. Viallet, & M. Habib (2003, April). Functional imaging of the bilingual brain during speech production. Panel on Recent Investigations of the Bilingual Brain, Fourth International Symposium on Bilingualism, University of Arizona.

Vaid, J. (2003, April). Joking across languages: Towards a theory of humor interpretation in bilinguals. Panel on Bilingualism and Emotions, Fourth International Symposium on Bilingualism, University of Arizona.

Chen, Hsin-Chin, Vaid, J., & Choi, H. (2003, May). Orthographic processing of morphemic cued words by native and nonnative English readers. American Psychological Society, Atlanta.
Vaid, J., Chen, H-C., Choi, H. & Martinez, F. (2003, Oct.). Cultural identity affects joking across languages: A survey of Spanish-English speakers in Laredo, Texas. Poster, Southwest Cognition Conference, Texas A&M University.

Friedman, M., Vaid, J., Chen, H-C, Martinez, F., & Choi, H. (2003, Nov.) Cognitive vs. aesthetic influences on cultural differences in proverb evaluation. Poster, Psychonomics Society, Vancouver.
Martinez, F., Vaid, J. & Heredia, R. (2003, Nov.) Metaphoric meaning activation: Is there an effect of language status? Poster, Psychonomics Society, Vancouver.

Texas A&M University Honors Program Teacher/Scholar Award, 2000-01
Fellow, American Psychological Society, 2002
Diversity Award for Outstanding Achievement, Office of Executive Vice President and Provost, Texas A&M University, 2003

Undergraduate
PSYC 204: Experimental Psychology
PSYC 345: Cognitive Processes
PSYC 346: Psychology of Language
PSYC 489: Special Topics in Language and Gender

Graduate
PSYC 689: Special Topics in Psycholinguistics

Link to Vita