Psycholinguistic theories conceptualize the mind as a set of mechanical processes that map between levels of mental representation. Cognition is seen as a form of computation, emerging from the interaction of these processes. We explore how this conceptualization frames psycholinguistic research questions. We first examine how the idea of “mind as computer” leads psycholinguists to examine two broad types of questions. Some studies focus on the structure of mental representations (e.g., are “similar” speech sounds associated with one vs. two representations across languages?). Others focus on the number and nature of processes underlying behavior (e.g., to what extent do speech perception and speech production rely on distinct vs. shared processes?). We then turn to connectionism, a specific computational framework that has dominated psycholinguistic theories of bilingualism. Connectionism’s conceptualization of processing as spreading activation has driven studies of representation and processing. We conclude by considering how psycholinguistic theories can inform as well as be informed by other perspectives