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Comprehension

Comprehension. Kimberley Clow kclow2@uwo.ca http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/130/. Outline. Propositions Off-line vs. On-line Tasks Gaze Durations Structure Building Framework Discourse References & Inferences Understanding Memory Conversation Rules. Memory for Text.

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Comprehension

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  1. Comprehension Kimberley Clow kclow2@uwo.ca http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/130/

  2. Outline • Propositions • Off-line vs. On-line Tasks • Gaze Durations • Structure Building Framework • Discourse • References & Inferences • Understanding • Memory • Conversation Rules

  3. Memory for Text • Subjects read a passage of text • “He sent a letter about it to Galileo, the great Italian scientist.” • Recognition at various delays • 0, 80, or 160 syllables • Changed sentences • Semantic • Passive/active • Formal

  4. Meaning as Propositions • Propositions • A set of conceptual nodes connected by labeled pathways that expresses the meaning of a sentence • A mouse bit a cat or • A cat was bitten by a mouse

  5. Deriving Propositions • Children who are slow eat bread that is cold • Slow children • Children eat bread • Bread is cold

  6. Evidence for Propositions • Memory better for sentences with fewer propositions

  7. Priming Propositions

  8. Free Association • Read Sentences • Children who are slow eat bread that is cold • Free Association • What is the first word that comes to mind that is related to “slow”? • Results • Children • Even though “slow” closer to “eat” than “children”

  9. Off-line vs. On-line Tasks • Offline Tasks • Measurement takes place after process complete • Test memory after a passage is read • Problem • Measuring memory processes or reading processes? • Online Task • Measuring ongoing processes as they happen • Gaze duration studies

  10. Gaze Duration Example

  11. Gaze Duration Studies

  12. Just & Carpenter Model

  13. Structure Building Framework • Model of Language Comprehension • Process of building mental structures • Propositions • Concrete way of understanding propositions • Three Principal Components • Laying a foundation • Mapping information onto the structure • Shifting to new structures

  14. Laying a Foundation • After the musician played the piano was quickly taken off the stage • After the musician played… • Discourse focus • The first character/idea of a sentence around which the structure is built. • musician

  15. Mapping Information • After the musician played the piano was quickly taken off the stage • After the musician played the piano… • Discourse focus • New words are mapped onto existing structure as they are read • piano

  16. Shifting to a New Structure • After the musician played the piano was quickly taken off the stage • After the musician played the piano was quickly… • Discourse focus • Old structure no longer fits, so start a new structure • musician  piano

  17. Discourse Psycholinguistics • Traditional Psycholinguistics • Determining what happens when we understand sentences • Broader View • How we resolve/understand sentences against the current discourse representation • Sentence comprehension is a process that anchors the interpretation of the sentence to the representation of the prior text

  18. Processing of Connected Discourse • What is discourse? • Units of analysis larger than a sentence • Applies to both spoken and written forms • Ways we process (i.e., comprehend and remember) units of language larger than a sentence • lectures • personal narratives • expository discourse

  19. Characteristics of Discourse • Cohesion: Interpretation of one sentence depends on other sentences • Referential Cohesion • Bill wanted to lend Susan some money. She really needed it. • Temporal Cohesion • Yesterday, Sara visited her grandmother. Later, she stopped at the gas station to get some gas. • Coherence: Logical consistency and semantic continuity • Incoherence • When the meanings of individual sentences do not hang together

  20. Referential Cohesion • Referential Cohesion • whether the nominal elements in discourse link together • Reference • objects and concepts that words or phrases stand for • Example • A woman came in. She is beautiful. • The relation between a woman and she create referential cohesion of discourse

  21. Types of Referential Cohesion • Anaphoric Reference • Using an expression to refer back to something previously mentioned in discourse • A woman came in. She is beautiful. • Cataphoric Reference • Using an expression to refer forward to something that is coming up in discourse • This is where it is. I found the book in the fridge!

  22. Comprehending Anaphoric References • Reading time of sentences affected by the degree of semantic relatedness between the antecedent expression and the anaphor (1) A tank passed by. The vehicle was full of people. (2) A bus passed by. The vehicle was full of people. • Which one is easier to comprehend? • Important factors • Antecedent identifiability • Given vs. new information

  23. Process of Understanding • Process of understanding a sentence in discourse context involves 3 stages: • identifying the given and new info in the current sentence • finding an antecedent in memory for the given information • attaching the new information to this spot in memory

  24. Example • (1) The boy saw a dog. It was such a cute dog with a red collar. He picked it up... • (2) The boy saw a dog. He was sitting in front of his house, eating. He picked it up… • Comprehension • He picked it up… is easier to comprehend in (1) than (2) • In (2), the antecedent is too far removed from the target

  25. Direct Matching vs. Bridging Inference • Direct Matching • When the given information in the target sentence directly matches an antecedent in the context sentence • Easier for readers • Bridging Inference • When the given information in the target sentence does not directly match an antecedent in the context sentence • The process of constructing a connection between concepts • Causes processing and reading times to slow down

  26. Example • Measure reading time of: • (1) Mary unpacked some beer. The beer was warm. • (2) Mary unpacked some picnic supplies. The beer was warm. • Readers spend considerably more time on (2) than (1) • In (2), there is no explicit antecedent (no direct matching) for the reference the beer (requires bridging) • the beer triggers a search for a matching antecedent • should the search fail, the reader has to engage in an inference mechanism and relate it to prior discourse

  27. Reading Span • Read a set of unrelated sentences aloud and recall last word in the set • When at last his eyes opened, there was no gleam of triumph, no shade of anger. (recall anger) • Reading Span Test • The maximum number of sentences per set for which you can recall all the sentences’ last words • Then do comprehension task • Reading a passage and answer questions about the referents of pronouns • Results • Performance on pronoun reference was a function of reading span and distance between the pronoun and the antecedent • Smaller reading spans = smaller working memory capacity

  28. Memory for Discourse • 3 Levels of Representation • Surface form • the exact words used • Propositional representation • interconnected network of ideas that underlie the surface forms • Situation model • a model of the state of affairs as described in the passage

  29. Level 1: Surface Form • Read sentences • (1) The confidence of Kofach was not unfounded. To stack the meeting for McDonald, the union had even brought in outsiders. • (2) Kofach had been persuaded by the international to stack the meeting for McDonald. The union had even brought in outsiders. • The final two clauses are physically identical • surface form for second-last clause better in (1) than (2) • Evidence that surface form is stored in working memory until its meaning is understood • then surface form purged to make room for the next sentence

  30. Level 2: Propositions • Participants presented with passages that required implicit inferences or were explicit • Explicit text: A carelessly discarded burning cigarette started a fire. The fire destroyed many acres of virgin forest. • Implicit text: A burning cigarette was carelessly discarded. The fire destroyed many acres of virgin forest. • Sentence verification task • A discarded cigarette started a fire – yes or no?

  31. Results

  32. Level 3: Situational Model • Read sentences such as • (1) Three turtles rested on a floating log, and a fish swam beneath them • (2) Three turtles beside on a floating log, and a fish swam beneath them • Sentence verification task • “A fish swam beneath a floating log” – yes or no? • Results • People who read (1) were more likely to falsely identify the probe as part of what they had read

  33. The Structure of Conversations • Taking Turns • Little overlap between participants’ utterances • Rules • 1) The current speaker gets to select the next speaker • 2) If Rule 1 is not used, anyone can become the next speaker • Formal settings or conversations with strangers are more structured & rule-goverened

  34. Conversational Maxims

  35. Violations • Conversation occurs within a semantic environment • People, purposes, rules of discourse, and the particular talk used in the conversation • Stupid Talk • Talk that doesn’t know what environment it is in • Crazy Talk • Talk that creates and sustains an irrational environment

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