What is minimal about predictive inferences?

Pronunciation of a probe word that relates to a highly predictable event is typically facilitated when the probe immediately follows the target sentence, but not when it is delayed until after a second sentence. These findings suggest that inferences about highly predictable events are minimally dra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychonomic bulletin & review Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 840 - 846
Main Authors McDaniel, M A, Schmalhofer, F, Keefe, D E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.12.2001
Subjects
Cognition
Humans
Reaction Time
Reading
Verbal Behavior
Vocabulary
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Summary:Pronunciation of a probe word that relates to a highly predictable event is typically facilitated when the probe immediately follows the target sentence, but not when it is delayed until after a second sentence. These findings suggest that inferences about highly predictable events are minimally drawn during reading. Using a similar paradigm, in which the probe was delayed, we found significant priming in a reading condition that encouraged focus on the referential state of affairs (situation level) expressed in the sentences. In contrast, significant priming for predictive texts was not observed in a reading condition that encouraged focus on the text per se (text level). These results are interpreted within a theoretical model that assumes that predictive inferences are represented at a situational level only, whereas explicitly presented information is represented at several levels (text and situational). It is in this sense that predictive inferences may be said to be minimally represented.
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ISSN:1069-9384
1531-5320
DOI:10.3758/BF03196226