Accessing Distant Text Information during Reading: Effects of Contextual Cues.

In 5 experiments, we investigated conditions under which readers access distant information. Participants read texts containing 2 episodes; the first of which described a goal that was satisfied or unsatisfied. Following the 2nd episode, participants read a statement that reinstated some part of the goal context. Experiments 1 through 3 demonstrated that reactivation of unsatisfied goal information depended on the type of original goal context and whether it was fully reinstated. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that, when the context was associated with both episodes, reinstatement of goal information from the distant target episode was successful only when the context was fully reinstated (Experiment 4). The results are consistent with models of comprehension that assume reactivation of relevant backgrounded information is achieved via a resonance process.

[1]  John W. Tukey,et al.  Exploratory Data Analysis. , 1979 .

[2]  Walter Kintsch,et al.  Toward a model of text comprehension and production. , 1978 .

[3]  Roger Ratcliff,et al.  A Theory of Memory Retrieval. , 1978 .

[4]  W. Kintsch,et al.  Strategies of discourse comprehension , 1983 .

[5]  R. Shiffrin,et al.  A retrieval model for both recognition and recall. , 1984, Psychological review.

[6]  Douglas L. Hintzman,et al.  "Schema Abstraction" in a Multiple-Trace Memory Model , 1986 .

[7]  W. Kintsch.  The role of knowledge in discourse comprehension: a construction-integration model. , 1988, Psychological review.

[8]  S. Garrod,et al.  Thematic subjecthood and cognitive constraints on discourse structure , 1988 .

[9]  C. Fletcher,et al.  Causal reasoning in the comprehension of simple narrative texts , 1988 .

[10]  E. J. O'Brien,et al.  Elaborative inferencing as an active or passive process. , 1990 .

[11]  Jason E. Albrecht,et al.  Comprehension strategies in the development of a mental model. , 1992, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[12]  Roger Ratcliff,et al.  Inference during reading. , 1992 .

[13]  A. Glenberg,et al.  Comprehension of illustrated text: Pictures help to build mental models☆ , 1992 .

[14]  J. M. Golding,et al.  A test of the on-line status of goal-related inferences , 1992 .

[15]  Jason E. Albrecht,et al.  Updating a mental model: maintaining both local and global coherence , 1993 .

[16]  J. M. Golding,et al.  Superordinate goal inferences: Are they automatically generated during comprehension? , 1993 .

[17]  J. L. Myers,et al.  Connecting goals and actions during reading. , 1993, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[18]  T. Trabasso,et al.  Inferences during Reading: Converging Evidence from Discourse Analysis, Talk-Aloud Protocols, and Recognition Priming , 1993 .

[19]  E. J. O'Brien,et al.  Maintaining global coherence during reading , 1994 .

[20]  T. Trabasso,et al.  Constructing inferences during narrative text comprehension. , 1994 .

[21]  R. Ratcliff,et al.  Unheralded Pronouns and Management by Common Ground , 1994 .

[22]  T. Trabasso,et al.  Minimal or Global Inference during Reading , 1994 .

[23]  K. A. Ericsson,et al.  Long-term working memory. , 1995, Psychological review.

[24]  Jason E. Albrecht,et al.  Role of context in accessing distant information during reading. , 1995, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[25]  G. McKoon,et al.  Pronoun resolution without pronouns: some consequences of memory-based text processing. , 1996, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[26]  E. J. O'Brien,et al.  Accessing global causes during reading. , 1996 .

[27]  Jerome L. Myers,et al.  Accessing the discourse representation during reading , 1998 .

[28]  R. Mason,et al.  Who Knows What about Whom: What Role Does Common Ground Play in Accessing Distant Information? , 1998 .