Three experiments are reported on the interpretation of conceptual anaphors, defined as those that do not have an explicit linguistic antecedent but one constructed from text. Two experiments showed that conceptual anaphors are quite easily understood but are processed with difficulty; the third one showed mixed results. (three references)…

The mechanisms involved in the assignment of an antecedent to an anaphoric element are examined. Taken together, four experiments suggest that conceptual, although grammatically illegal, anaphors do not cause comprehensive difficulties. (Author/LB)

Two levels of representation in text comprehension were postulated: a propositional representation and a mental (or situation) model of the content of the text. Experimental results suggest that performance differences attributable to domain-specific knowledge reflect differences in the construction of the mental model. (26 references) (Author/LB)

Outlines the scenario-mapping and focus (SMF) account of text interpretation, which puts mapping of text onto knowledge in a key position with respect to processing. Reviews supporting evidence. Uses plural reference and nonlogical quantification as illustrations of problems that might be better understood within the SMF framework. (SR)

The present study examined left (LH) and right (RH) hemisphere involvement in discourse processing by testing the ability of each hemisphere to use world knowledge in the form of script contexts for word recognition. Participants made lexical decisions to laterally presented target words preceded by centrally presented script primes (four…

Five experiments investigated the role of sentence context in influencing recognition decisions. Sentence stems were presented only in the study phase, only in the test phase, or in both; in addition, the coherence of the sentences was varied, such that terminal words were highly constrained by, merely consistent with, or actually incongruous with…

Processing time and memory for sentences were examined as a function of the degree of semantic and causal relatedness between sentences in short narratives. In Experiments 1-2B, semantic and causal relatedness between sentence pairs was independently manipulated. Causal relatedness was assessed through pretesting and semantic relatedness was…

We show that Kempen and Harbusch's ("Cognition" (2003) "this issue") arguments against our claims cannot be upheld. On the one hand, their alternative account of our data that is based on the availability of constructions with object-experiencer verbs is not compatible with the literature on the processing of these types of sentences in German.…

The 10th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2017) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Optics Velley Kingdom Plaza Hotel, Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. This years conference features two invited talks by: Dr. Jie Tang, Associate Professor with the Department of Computer…

A text's meaning is, in part, independent of its form. Reading, most of the time, is taking meaning--not words--from the printed page, while proofreading requires attention to form rather than meaning. The author notes that: (1) a meaningful passage is easier to read than one with less meaning; (2) errors in oral reading usually do not obscure a…

A survey of the current research on readability formulas is presented in this paper, which distinguishes this research from research on the more general questions that surround formulas: What features of a text, particularly the language it is written in, make the text easy or difficult to read? and, What will predict that readers with particular…

Three studies were conducted in an attempt to replicate previous research concluding that semantic meaning is accessed in the absence of conscious awareness. A pattern mask was used to interrupt the processing of stimulus words after 30 milliseconds; at this duration subjects were not able to identify the stimulus words or even to determine…

The study of schema theory as part of the inquiry into the nature of language comprehension has drawn attention to the reader's central role in the construction of text-guided meaning. Contemporary schema theory represnts a major step in the effort to move away from a reductionist view of reading comprehension. Specifically, it focuses on wbat…

A complete analysis of a story's structure must rely on more than a simple grammar of story components; it requires a consideration of the characters' plans as they are stated or implied in the story. Furthermore, these plans are recognized as the characters' beliefs, and beliefs about interactions among plans are crucial determinants of a story's…

A study examined the effect of interspersed postpassage questions on comprehension for second-grade children. Results from a reading comprehension test showed that although questioning instruction had little effect on the above average readers, normal and below readers made significant gains when instructed in the use of postpassage questions.…