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On-line predictive inferences in reading: processing time during versus after the priming context
M G Calvo1, M D Castillo, A Estevez
1Departámento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Memory & Cognition
|November 30, 1999
Summary
Readers make predictive inferences after reading text, not during. Increasing the delay after text presentation, not reading time, enhances inference construction, showing a 1-second deferral for predictive processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Reading Comprehension
Background:
- Predictive inferences are crucial for text comprehension.
- Previous research indicates that constructing these inferences requires time during online reading.
- The specific temporal dynamics of inference construction remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct roles of time available during context reading versus time after context reading on predictive inference construction.
- To determine when readers engage in making predictive inferences.
Main Methods:
- Six experiments manipulated context presentation rate and the delay between context and target word.
- Participants read sentence contexts designed to induce prediction or serve as a control.
- Target word latencies were measured to assess inference likelihood.
Main Results:
- Increased reading time improved explicit information comprehension but not inference construction.
- Increased delay after context reading enhanced inference likelihood, indicated by faster target word naming.
- This effect was observed even when explicit comprehension was unaffected.
Conclusions:
- Readers defer making predictive inferences until approximately 1 second after the sentence context has been processed.
- The time available during context processing does not influence the online construction of predictive inferences.
- These findings challenge previous assumptions about the immediate online nature of predictive inference generation.