When a situation could lead to multiple mutually exclusive consequences, recent research shows that people automatically generate multiple predictive inferences in memory. Several theoretical mechanisms have been proposed to account for the generation of predictive inferences. One hypothesis is that inferences are minimally encoded, represented…

Sentence comprehension requires both syntactic prediction and working memory processes. Evidence suggests that both are impaired in agrammatic aphasia, and can independently contribute to comprehension breakdowns, but the relationship between them, especially during real-time sentence comprehension remains unclear. Two EEG studies investigated…

Psycholinguistic research aims to understand how people make sense of language in their everyday lives. However, most of this research studies language under experimental conditions in which people are instructed to specifically monitor (and indicate) when there is a breakdown in their understanding. Moreover, there is an assumption that people…

This study aims to find the potential relationship between emotioncy (sense-induced emotions), reading strategy use, and reading comprehension test performance among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To this end, 514 intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners were asked to complete a 30-item multiple-choice reading comprehension…

There is accumulating evidence that readers continually evaluate the consistency, congruence, and coherence of text by processes of validation. Validation is initiated immediately on stimulus presentation, may proceed nonstrategically, and serves as a criterion for representational updating. However, validation exhibits a variety of deficiencies.…

In this investigation, we examine the contribution of intrinsic content density (ICD) to measures of expository text processing. In Studies 1 and 2, the factor structure of select text density metrics was examined and refined using two text samples (Ns = 150) randomly selected from an expository text corpus. Scores on the ICD measure based on the…

The study of word-to-text integration (WTI) provides a window on incremental processes that link the meaning of a word to the preceding text. We review a research program using event-related potential indicators of WTI at sentence beginnings, thus localizing sources of integration to prior text meaning independently of the current sentence. The…

Reading comprehension is a widely adopted method for learning English, involving reading articles and answering related questions. However, the reading comprehension training typically focuses on the skill level required for a standardized learning stage, without considering the impact of individual differences in linguistic competence. This…

In conversation or during reading, we sometimes find ourselves making predictions about the identity of an upcoming word or phrase. This phenomenon has been reflected in the results of laboratory experiments that show changes in eye gaze patterns or the Electroencephalogram (EEG) "prior" to encountering a predicted word. However,…

Theory of mind is the understanding that other people have mental states that drive their actions and that those mental states can be different from one's own. Without understanding theory of mind and being able to take others' perspectives, it could be difficult for children to read and understand narrative texts. This paper posits that…

Theory of mind is the understanding that other people have mental states that drive their actions and that those mental states can be different from one's own. Without understanding theory of mind and being able to take others' perspectives, it could be difficult for children to read and understand narrative texts. This paper posits that…

Comprehension substantially benefits from attending to, thinking about, and mentally representing the sources of any presented information. Such processes require mental effort and unfortunately people do not always engage in such activities. The current article presents a nascent, evolving model of discourse comprehension that formalizes…

Despite decades of research on the close link between eye movements and human cognitive processes, the exact nature of the link between eye movements and deliberative thinking in problem-solving remains unknown. Thus, this study explored the critical eye-movement indicators of deliberative thinking and investigated whether visual behaviors could…

Purpose: Morphological awareness (MA), the ability to reflect on and manipulate the smallest language units within a word, has been identified as an essential metalinguistic awareness to predict literacy development. In this study, we examine whether an online gamified English MA programme is more effective than physical face-to-face instruction…

This study investigated the relationship between specific cognitive patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSWs) and the errors children make in reading, writing, and spelling tests from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement-Third Edition (KTEA-3). Participants were selected from the KTEA-3 standardization sample based on five cognitive…