discourse processing

Question 1

what are logical inferences

Answer 1

depend only on the meaning of words. e.g. we can infer that anyone who is a widow is a female

Question 2

what are bridging inferences

Answer 2

establish coherence between the current part of the text and the preceding text

Question 3

what are elaborative inferences

Answer 3

embellish or add details to the text by making use of our world knowledge

Question 4

what is the constructionist approach

Answer 4

• readers typically construct a relatively complete mental model of the situation and events referred to in the text

Question 5

who developed the constructionist approach

Answer 5

Bransford, Barclay and Franks 1972

Question 6

what evidence is there for constructionist approach

Answer 6

• pps read sentence and then read a test sentence and believed they were the same due to inferences

Question 7

what evidence is there against the constructionist approach

Answer 7

– pps mistakenly recognised sentences that were relevant to hitler that had not appeared in the original story
- not sure when they made the inference as it could be whilst reading or during the test phase

Question 8

what is the minimalist hypothesis

Answer 8

• mackoon and ratcliff
• inferences are either automatic or strategic
• some automatic inferences establish local coherence
• other automatic inferences rely on info explicitly stated in the text
• strategic inferences are formed in pursuit of the reader’s goals
• most elaborative inferences are made at recall

Question 9

support for minimalist hypothesis

Answer 9

• if made inference when reading text they would be quicker at recognising the word
• pps were quicker if they were told to make inferences so they had a target

Question 10

evidence against minimalist hypothesis

Answer 10

poynor and morris
- readers took longer to read a sentence describing inconsistent action, regardless of whether the goal was explicit or implicit. readers inferred the character’s goal even when it was only implied

Question 11

what are the dimensions of the event indexing model

Answer 11

• the protagonist
• temporality
• causality
• spatiality
• intentionality

Question 12

evidence for event-indexing model

Answer 12

• pps presented with passages describing 4 events either chronological or non-chronological
• if it’s a flashback pps rearrange back to chronological order - proves they keep track of time
• claus and kelter

Question 13

what are schemas

Answer 13

• stored in long term memory and include scripts and frames

Question 14

what are scripts in schemas

Answer 14

deal with knowledge about particular events and consequences of events

Question 15

what are frames in schemas

Answer 15

knowledge structures relating to some aspect of the world. they consist of fixed structural information and slots for variable information

Question 16

who found evidence for schemas

Answer 16

bransford and johnson
- titles make text easier to understood as they could remember more - activates schemas

Question 17

what is the experiential simulations approach

Answer 17

• modal simulations, bodily states, and situated action underlie cognition
• the same sensorimotor representations that are activated while interacting with the environment are reenacted or simulated when reading a similar experience

Question 18

what evidence is there for experiential simulation approach in action

Answer 18

• pps who had to turn volume the same way as the sentence, they were quicker to turn
• zwaan and taylor

Question 19

what evidence is there for experiential simulation approach in perception

Answer 19

• zwaan, stanfield and yaxley
• perceptual image based off our experiences
• while reading we understand by creating perceptual image so we choose images that match that

Question 20

evidence from neuroimaging for experiential simulation approach

Answer 20

• if reading text, similar brain areas are activated when reading as well as when you perform the action
• chen and bargh
• pull lever to suggest whether word is positive or negative - when you read a positive stimulus you want to pull towards whereas negative you want to avoid
• affect-movement compatibility effect

Question 21

what evidence is there for experiential simulation effect in affect

Answer 21

• niedenthal 2007
• pps presented with happy or sad words and facial muscle activity measured
• smiling muscles activated for positive words
• understand words because we are feeling it
• havas, glenberg and rinck 2007
• induced emotional states - positive and negative and gave positive and negative words
• faster to make judgements about positive statements if put in happy induced state