Eight experiments evaluated a core assumption of several theories of text processing, the shared resource assumption, which states that component text processes share limited processing resources. Short texts each contained two critical sentences that together warranted a causal inference. The syntactic structure of the second sentence was either…

Three studies are reported that addressed methodological problems in Stowe's (1989) study, which reported that semantic information eliminates garden paths in sentences with direct object versus subject ambiguity, such as in "Even before the police stopped the driver was frightened." Findings support a sentence processing system relying on…

A text was presented on three levels with regard to lexical density (LD - the quota of lexical words/total amount of words in a sentence). 132 subjects' comprehension of the text (discourse comprehension) was tested by a knowledge test and by subjective ratings. Results for discourse and single-sentence analysis were discussed as well as…

The present study investigated how much surface structure and meaning is retained when subjects process sentences at different levels of analysis at presentation. (Author/RK)

The author of this paper argues that, in the study of current usage, we need to supplement data from corpus studies by using methods that elicit use, reports of use, and evaluations of use on items which interest them. Ten methods for experimental elicitation of such data are described, related to one another, and illustrated with examples of data…

It has been demonstrated (in the research described here) that people hearing sentences on a tape recording process underdetermined sentences differently than people hearing them in a conversation. It has been shown that this difference is caused by the presence of underdetermined elements but not ordinary transformations. The effect of ordinary…

Looks at the processes by which information from individual input events combines to form a mentally represented linear order. (Author/RK)

Describes the cross-modal semantic priming paradigm, including its underlying rationale and the different tasks with which it is combined. Introduces the type of stimuli used and the dependent and independent variables typically manipulated; discusses the paradigm's main advantages and drawbacks; and considers its most important areas of…

Authors studied the human being as an active language processor in different task environments. They examined the empirical trends in two different performance situations where the subject processed and used linguistic information. Theories about subject's processing abilities in those situations were entertained. (Author/RK)

Research findings on semantic cohesion within a sentence and its effect on individuals' performance in using the sentences illustrate how research methodology can influence research outcomes. (MSE)

Research supported in part by a Public Health Service grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Development. (VM)

Interest in the application of modern linguistic theory in composition research has faded, possibly because some of the basic principles that inform linguistic study have been misunderstood. For example, a common misconception is that linguists use the term "generate" to mean "produce." However, the purpose of a generative…

Examines four kinds of language learning-related behaviors (LLRBs) in the home conversations of 6 English children studied for 6 months from age 2.6 years. The role of LLRBs in frequency and range and in the frequency of grammatical productions during spontaneous revisions is addressed. (44 references) (GLR)

Overlapping samples of 191, 142, and 87 undergraduates rated pairs of sentences for the frequency and acceptability of the syntactic constructions represented to investigate the feasibility of using such ratings in the study of syntactic forms. The results indicated that subjects are consistent in their judgments of both the frequency and…