Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating the modulatory effect of expectations on memory retrieval during sentence comprehension

Cuny Graduate School University Center, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Understanding the nature and the source of processing difficulty in human language comprehension has been a central goal in psychology and linguistics for its theoretical and practical implications. 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, their relationship remains poorly understood. The present study investigates memory retrieval and expectation in two experiments, pitting these factors against each other to observe how they interact. The two experiments are direct extensions of the reading dual-task paradigm developed by Van Dyke & McElree (2006) and examine the interplay of semantic expectation and memory retrieval. The present experimental work is supplemented by a computational modeling study. The model will include both memory retrieval and expectation constraints and will be implemented in the ACT-R cognitive architecture (Anderson, 1976, 2005). The overarching goal is to test a novel hypothesis according to which expectations modulate memory retrieval: retrieving and integrating a word previously processed is easier in a highly predictable context (sharp expectation) as compared to a weakly predictable context. Such an integrative model affords the possibility of reconciling the sometimes contrasting predictions that arise from these two approaches, and constitutes a theoretical and methodological advance in psychology and linguistics research. In addition, a better understanding of the links between expectations and memory retrieval in language comprehension has the potential of helping professionals to improve their education and intervention methods.