Language and reading-discourse processing

Question 1

Logical inferences

Answer 1

Depends only on the meaning of words

Question 2

Bridging inferences

Answer 2

Establish coherence between current part of text and preceding text

Question 3

Elaborative influences

Answer 3

Embellish or add details to the text using world knowledge
Not essential to understand text

Question 4

Constructionist approach

Answer 4

readers construct a relatively complete mental model of a situation and event referred to in a text

Question 5

Support for constructionist approach

Answer 5

Present with a sentence eg. three turtles rested on a floating log and the fish swam beneath them
Inference: the fish swam under the log
Present with another sentence: eg. three turtles rested on a floating log and a fish swam beneath it
Result: most readers didn’t notice the change as they had already inferred the the fish swam beneath the log

Question 6

Against constructionist approach

Answer 6

eg. participants told a story
1 week later had a memory test on the story. Just before the memory test told that the story was about Adolph Hitler
Findings: participants mistakenly ‘recognised’ sentences relevant to Hitler that had not appeared in the original story
Potential problem is that inferences may not be made at the time of reading

Question 7

Minimalist hypothesis

Answer 7

-Inferences are automatic or strategic (goal directed)
-Some automatic influences rely on information explicitly stated in the text
-Strategic inferences are formed in pursuit of the reader’s goal
Most elaborative inferences are made at recalll

Question 8

Evidence supporting minimalist hypothesis

Answer 8

Group 1 instructed to read for comprehension
Group 2 told to anticipate why might happen next
After reading, participants were presented with a target word
Participants that had already made the inference would read out the target word faster

Question 9

Evidence against minimalist hypothesis

Answer 9

The goal of the main character was explicitly stated or implied
There was a sentence in the text that didn’t match the goal of the character
Readers Tok longer to read the sentence that didn’t match the character’s goal regardless of whether it was explicit or implicit

Question 10

Event-indexing model

Answer 10

Readers construct an internal representation or ‘situation model’ of what the text describes

Question 11

5 aspects of event-indexing model

Answer 11

The protagonist- central character in the present event compared to previous one
Temporality- the relationship between the times at which the present and previous events occurred
Causality- causal relationship of the current event and previous one
Spatiality- the relationship between the spatial setting the current and previous events
Intentionality- the relationship between the characters’s goals and the present event

Question 12

Evidence for event-indexing model

Answer 12

When presented with a flashback the reader was still able to construct the correct time line of events
Harder to access information when it is part of a flashback
Harder to access information when it happens further in that past
Key finding: duration of the second event influenced the speed in which the first event could be accessed

Question 13

Event-indexing model strengths and weaknesses

Answer 13

Strengths: identifying key processes involved in updating situation models
weaknesses: has little detail about the internal representation that is built by readers and listeners in order to understand language

Question 14

Schemas

Answer 14

Stored in long term memory include scripts and frames

Question 15

Scripts

Answer 15

Deal with knowledge about particular events and consequences of events

Question 16

Frames

Answer 16

Knowledge structures relating to some aspect of the world
Consist of fixed structural information and slots for variable information

Question 17

Evidence for schemas

Answer 17

When supplied with information before reading a paragraph it is easier to understand what the paragraph is about and people were able to recall more

Question 18

Experimental simulation approach

Answer 18

Neural systems involved in non-linguistic activities such as action, perception and emotion are used during language comprehension
eg. imagining a particular body action when reading about it

Question 19

Experimental simulations approach - neuroimaging evidence

Answer 19

Same areas of brain activated during reading vs. doing

Question 20

Evidence to suggest positive and negative stimuli are automatically evaluated

Answer 20

Pushing/pulling a leaver towards/away depending on whether it is a positive or negative word that is heard
Response time was faster for positive towards and negative away as
positive emotional stimuli ‘prime’ behaviours

Question 21

Affect-movement compatibility effect

Answer 21

negative emotional stimuli prepare the body to avoid

Question 22

Inducing emotional states can influence ….

Answer 22

Language comprehension
Shown by a study of holding pen between teeth or lips
Holding between teeth activated muscles that make you smile
People were faster to judge that a sentence was positive

Question 23

Simulations approach

Answer 23

Constructing a perceptual simulation of the situation describes provides a framework for the nature of internal representation

Question 24

Simulations approach strengths and weaknesses

Answer 24

Strengths- framework for explaining nature of internal representation created by reader/ listeners to understand language
Weaknesses- not known whether experimental simulations approach applies under all circumstances