Effects of event knowledge in processing verbal arguments

This research tests whether comprehenders use their knowledge of typical events in real time to process verbal arguments. In self-paced reading and event-related brain potential (ERP) experiments, we used materials in which the likelihood of a specific patient noun ( brakes or spelling) depended on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of memory and language 2010-11, Vol.63 (4), p.489-505
Main Authors: Bicknell, Klinton, Elman, Jeffrey L., Hare, Mary, McRae, Ken, Kutas, Marta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Cognition & reasoning
Comprehension
Educational Research
Electronic Learning
Electrophysiology
Evaluation Methods
Event knowledge
Event-related potentials
Experiments
Form Classes (Languages)
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Information processing
Language
Language comprehension
Language Processing
Production and perception of written language
Psycholinguistics
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reading
Self-paced reading
Sentence processing
Sentences
Time on Task
Verbal communication
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Summary:This research tests whether comprehenders use their knowledge of typical events in real time to process verbal arguments. In self-paced reading and event-related brain potential (ERP) experiments, we used materials in which the likelihood of a specific patient noun ( brakes or spelling) depended on the combination of an agent and verb ( mechanic checked vs. journalist checked). Reading times were shorter at the word directly following the patient for the congruent than the incongruent items. Differential N400s were found earlier, immediately at the patient. Norming studies ruled out any account of these results based on direct relations between the agent and patient. Thus, comprehenders dynamically combine information about real-world events based on intrasentential agents and verbs, and this combination then rapidly influences online sentence interpretation.
ISSN:0749-596X
1096-0821
DOI:10.1016/j.jml.2010.08.004