Elaboration over a Discourse Facilitates Retrieval in Sentence Processing.

ABSTRACT: Language comprehension requires access to stored knowledge and the ability to combine knowledge in new, meaningful ways. Previous work has shown that processing linguistically more complex expressions ('Texas cattle rancher' vs. 'rancher') leads to slow-downs in reading during initial processing, possibly reflecting effort in combining information. Conversely, when this information must subsequently be retrieved (as in filler-gap constructions), processing is facilitated for more complex expressions, possibly because more semantic cues are available during retrieval. To follow up on this hypothesis, we tested whether information distributed across a short discourse can similarly provide effective cues for retrieval. Participants read texts introducing two referents (e.g., two senators), on

SUBMITTER: Troyer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4791404 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature