Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Advisor
Klara Marton
Committee Members
Julie Van Dyke
Mira Goral
Valerie Shafer
Subject Categories
Communication Sciences and Disorders | Linguistics | Psychology | Speech and Hearing Science
Keywords
Interference, Memory, Prediction, Expectation, Sentence processing
Abstract
Memory retrieval and probabilistic expectations are recognized factors in sentence comprehension that capture two different critical aspects of processing difficulty: the cost of retrieving and integrating previously processed elements with the new input words and the cost of incorrect predictions about upcoming words or structures in a sentence. Although these two factors have independently received substantial support from the extant literature, how they interact remains poorly understood. This study investigated memory retrieval, more specifically retrieval interference, and lexical-semantic expectations in three reading experiments, pitting these factors against each other to observe how they interact. Overall, results showed that retrieving and integrating a previously processed word is easier for highly predictable sentences (sharp expectation) as compared to weakly predictable sentences, and that precise expectations can completely cancel the damaging effects of memory interference. We hypothesize that expectation provides a head start for retrieval of the target element, thus facilitating recognition and integration processes and reducing the influence of competitor representations.
Recommended Citation
Campanelli, Luca, "Investigating the Modulatory Effect of Expectations on Memory Retrieval During Sentence Comprehension" (2020). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3562
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