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Memory operations that support language comprehension: evidence from verb-phrase ellipsis.
Andrea E Martin1, Brian McElree
1Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA. andrea.martin@nyu.edu
Understanding verb-phrase ellipsis (VPE) involves memory retrieval. This study found that interfering information after the antecedent, not before, impacts accuracy, supporting direct-access memory retrieval for VPE.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Linguistics
Background:
- Verb-phrase ellipsis (VPE) comprehension necessitates accessing previously processed information from memory.
- Prior research suggests VPE antecedents are retrieved directly via cue-dependent pointers, not through search processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the direct-access hypothesis for VPE antecedent retrieval.
- To investigate the influence of interfering material location on VPE processing speed and accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the speed-accuracy tradeoff procedure to analyze the time course of VPE processing.
- Manipulated the timing of interfering material relative to the VPE antecedent (proactive vs. retroactive interference).
Main Results:
- Retroactive interference (RI) led to lower VPE comprehension accuracy compared to proactive interference (PI).
- The location of interfering material did not influence the speed of VPE processing.
- Observed time-course profiles align with a cue-dependent direct-access retrieval mechanism.
Conclusions:
- VPE antecedent retrieval appears to be a direct-access operation, not a search-based process.
- Interference effects on accuracy, but not speed, support a model of memory retrieval that is sensitive to the timing of intervening information.
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