Repetitions of propositional arguments in sentences

This study investigated a characteristic of the propositions that underlle sentences. For some of the sentences that were tested, the same concepts occurred repeatedly across the underlying propositions, and for other sentences, concepts were seldom repeated. Repetitions were shown to facilitate processing of the sentences in three experiments. Experiment I demonstrated an effect of repetitions on the time subjects took to read with comprehension. Experiment II demonstrated an effect on immediate recall. Experiment III demonstrated a facilitating effect on immediate recall, even though the sentences containing repetitions were longer and more complicated than those that did not. These results were explained by two processes: integrating information during comprehension and retrieving propositions from memory.