Problem 2: Language comprehension

Question 1

Ellipsis

Answer 1

substituting sentence with nothing

Question 2

conjunctive

Answer 2

‘and’, ‘or’, ‘but’

Question 3

lexical

Answer 3

connection because of lexical relationship

Question 4

direct matching

Answer 4

match of underlying concepts

Question 5

bridging

Answer 5

no direct antecedent

Question 6

reading span task

Answer 6

examine tradeoff between storing and processing information in WM –> results: correlation between reading span, WM capacity and reading comprehension

Question 7

surface representation

Answer 7

remember the exact word read

Question 8

propositional representation

Answer 8

specifies meaning apart from exact word read

Question 9

situation model

Answer 9

model of situation: spatial or causal

Question 10

relationship memory and representation?

Answer 10

memory increases with the complexity of the representation: situation model>proposition>surface

Question 11

Zwaan, Stanfield & Yaxley (language comprehenders represent shapes of images)

Answer 11

Goal: investigate if we represent shape
Exp 1: indicate if sentence and image match –> faster responses for matches
Exp 2: replication, see if it was not due to response inhibition/facilitation –> Still effect found
Conclusion: people activate perceptual symbols during language comprehension

Question 12

sensorimotor theories of language comprehension

Answer 12

representation of language is sensory/motor (speech act?)

Question 13

symbol & abstract representation of language

Answer 13

representations are functionally separate from perceptual systems = abstract

Question 14

grounding by interaction hypothesis

Answer 14

conceptual knowledge is inherently abstract but not complete without perceptual and motor knowledge (intermediate pov)

Question 15

Kurby & zacks (modality specific representations during discourse comprehension)

Answer 15

Goal: use fMRI to investigate the activation of modality specific representations during discourse comprehension
Exp 1: read text then comprehension task + vividness rating –> only auditory and motor activation
Exp 2: story vs scrambled condition –> only motor & auditory, higher imagery for story condition
Conclusion: imagery strength depends on discourse level processing

Question 16

Nieuwland & van Berkum (when peanuts fall in love)

Answer 16

goals: how do local and global factors interact in comprehension?
Hypothesis: 1 step = decrease in N400, 2 steps = stable N400
Exp 1: animate vs inanimate condition –> N400 became gradually weaker
Exp 2: can global override local? –> animate condition = yes local, no global
inanimate = no local, yes global
—> animate > inanimate n400 response
Conclusion: evidence that discourse context can overrule lexical-semantic violations, supporting single step model

Question 17

Yehurun et al (neural representation of interpretive frameworks)

Answer 17

Goal: do patterns of activation of the mentalizing network depend on interpretation?
Method: get paranoia/cheating story, listen to story, comprehension and interpretation were measured
Results: Different intepretations, different patterns of activity

Question 18

mentalizing network

Answer 18

regions associated with ToM, inferring one’s state of mind