| Abstract: | The boundary conditions of perspective‐taking were explored in two experiments. Participants gave instructions on the assembly of a machine model. In Experiment I, cognitive load was manipulated, and speakers gave two instructions to different addressees with divergent knowledge. Unlike utterances produced under low load, instructions given under high load were not adapted to the addressees. Experiment II demonstrated that this load effect was partially compensated for by high accountability. Findings support a two‐stage model of utterance planning: the controlled processes of monitoring and adjustment operate on the output of a predominantly automatic stage of planning. Cognitive load impairs monitoring and adjustment, and leads to ‘standard’ utterances that are not adapted to the addressee's perspective. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
