Completion and verification of ambiguous sentences

Alternative models have been offered to explain the mechanisms underlying the processing of ambiguous sentences. One model contends that the meanings of an ambiguity are processed one at a time, without interaction between them. A rival model contends that to some extent both meanings of an ambiguity can be processed simultaneously, competing with one another until one is perceived. The present study tested these theories by systematically varying the probability that a given meaning of an ambiguous sentence will be perceived, and measuring the time to complete or verify the sentences. The results call into question the adequacy of the noninteraction model, and suggest that parallel processing and reciprocal interactions at the semantic feature level are important psychological processes underlying the comprehension of ambiguous sentences.