Reconceptualizing cognitive listening

Research on 'cognitive listening' has grown exponentially in recent years. Lacking, however, is a conceptual framework to organize the abundance of data from the hearing, cognitive, and linguistic sciences. We offer the data-resource-language (DRL) framework that draws from the notions of data-limited and resource-limited processes to provide a roadmap for understanding the interaction between auditory sensitivity, cognitive resources, and linguistic knowledge during speech perception, especially in adverse conditions. The DRL framework explains how these three sets of abilities predict performance and resource engagement as a function of signal quality. It also provides a platform for characterizing similarities and differences in how normal-hearing, impaired-hearing, and non-native listeners process speech in challenging conditions.