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Lexical processing and text integration of function and content words: evidence from priming and eye fixations
A R Schmauder1, R K Morris, D V Poynor
1University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Memory & Cognition
|December 29, 2000
Summary
This study reveals that while function and content words share initial processing, they diverge later in sentence comprehension, impacting reading patterns and processing time.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Linguistics
Background:
- Function words (e.g., 'the', 'of') and content words (e.g., 'dog', 'run') play distinct roles in language.
- Previous research suggests both shared and distinct processing mechanisms for these word types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the on-line processing of function words and content words.
- To investigate whether differences emerge in later stages of sentence comprehension.
Main Methods:
- Lexical decision task (Experiment 1) measuring priming effects.
- Eye-tracking during silent reading (Experiment 2) to monitor reading patterns and processing times.
- Controlled for word length and frequency across word types.
Main Results:
- Both function and content words showed priming effects in lexical decision.
- Similar word frequency effects were observed for both types in initial reading measures (e.g., first fixation).
- Differences emerged in later processing measures, including increased processing time after low-frequency function words and more regressions.
Conclusions:
- Function and content words undergo common lexical processing.
- Distinct roles in sentence processing beyond the lexical level contribute to observed differences in reading behavior.
- Eye-movement data provides evidence for differential processing demands in sentence comprehension.