Cognitive models of message production: Unanswered questions

The increased knowledge of cognitive processes that has developed in the pa st 3 decades has made it possible to explain the design and production of m essages at a level of specificity that was heretofore impossible. This arti cle suggests 6 areas where future research could lead to a better understan ding of the cognitive processes underlying message production. These areas include how speakers acquire the knowledge that allows them to adapt a mess age to situational features, how speakers adapt messages to the qualities o f a specific hearer, how behaviors activated to address contextual features ave incorporated into a preliminary message plan, the level of specificity at which speakers cognitively represent communication goals, individual di fferences in the accessibility of secondary goals, and the effects of capac ity demands on message production.