Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
09:27
Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
Published on: October 13, 2018
The interpretation of indicative and subjunctive concessives.
I Gómez-Veiga1, J A García-Madruga, S Moreno-Ríos
1Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain. igveiga@psi.uned.es
Acta Psychologica
|March 12, 2010
Summary
People mentally represent
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Understanding conditional sentences is crucial for language comprehension.
- Mental models theory explains how people represent conditional information.
- Concessive and conditional sentences present distinct logical structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mental representations of indicative and subjunctive concessive sentences.
- To compare these representations with those of factual and counterfactual conditionals.
- To explore the role of priming in accessing these mental representations.
Main Methods:
- A priming paradigm was employed within a reading comprehension task.
- Participants read sentences primed by different linguistic forms.
- Reading times for conjunctive descriptions (e.g., A and B) were measured.
Main Results:
- Indicative 'even though' concessives and factual 'if, not' conditionals activate a single mental model.
- Subjunctive 'even if' concessives and counterfactual 'if, not' conditionals initially involve multiple mental models.
- Reading times varied based on the type of linguistic form and the presented possibility.
Conclusions:
- The mental representation of conditional and concessive sentences differs based on their linguistic form (indicative vs. subjunctive).
- Subjunctive and counterfactual statements may require more complex initial mental representations.
- Findings support and extend the mental models framework for understanding conditional reasoning.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Interpretations of Partial Derivatives
A surface defined by a function of two variables can be visualized as a vast, uneven terrain, where each point is identified using Cartesian coordinates. The elevation of the terrain at any point is determined by a function that assigns a height value to every pair of horizontal coordinates. This representation allows the surface to be studied in terms of how its height varies across different directions.At a specific point on this terrain, understanding how the height changes requires...
01:19Conjugation
Conjugation is a form of horizontal gene transfer that primarily occurs in bacteria and some archaea, promoting genetic diversity and adaptation. Bacteria can acquire resistance genes through conjugative plasmids, allowing them to survive antibiotic treatments that would otherwise be lethal. This process involves direct contact between cells through specialized structures such as the sex pilus and is mediated by conjugative plasmids, including the F (fertility) factor.Conjugation requires...
01:26Constraints and Statical Determinacy
In structural engineering, the equilibrium of a system is not only determined by its equations of equilibrium but also with the help of constraints. Constraints refer to restrictions on the motion of a system. The proper combinations of constraints can minimize the total number of constraints needed to maintain a system in mechanical equilibrium. When this happens, the system is said to be statically determinate. For such systems, the unknown reaction supports can be estimated using equilibrium...
01:19Interpretation of Confidence Intervals
A confidence interval is a better estimate of the population than a point estimate, as it uses a range of values from a sample instead of a single value.
Confidence intervals have confidence coefficients that are crucial for their interpretation. The most common confidence coefficients are 0.90, 0.95, and 0.99, which can be written as percentages–90%, 95%, and 99%, respectively.
Suppose a person calculates a confidence interval with a confidence coefficient of 0.95. In that case, they can...
Confidence intervals have confidence coefficients that are crucial for their interpretation. The most common confidence coefficients are 0.90, 0.95, and 0.99, which can be written as percentages–90%, 95%, and 99%, respectively.
Suppose a person calculates a confidence interval with a confidence coefficient of 0.95. In that case, they can...
01:27Conjugate Addition (1,4-Addition) vs Direct Addition (1,2-Addition)
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds with two electrophilic sites, the carbonyl carbon, and the β carbon, are susceptible to nucleophilic attack via two modes: conjugate or 1,4-addition and direct or 1,2-addition.
Conjugate addition results in a thermodynamically stable product. The reaction retains the stronger C=O bond at the expense of the weaker C=C π bond. The process is slow as the β carbon is less electrophilic than the carbonyl carbon.
Direct addition products are formed faster owing to...
Conjugate addition results in a thermodynamically stable product. The reaction retains the stronger C=O bond at the expense of the weaker C=C π bond. The process is slow as the β carbon is less electrophilic than the carbonyl carbon.
Direct addition products are formed faster owing to...
01:09Directing Effect of Substituents: meta-Directing Groups
Substituents on the benzene ring that direct an incoming electrophile to undergo substitution at the meta position are called meta directors. All meta directors either have a positive charge on the atom directly bonded to the ring or a partial positive charge. These groups function by withdrawing electrons from the ring through inductive and resonance effects. Consider the carbocation intermediates formed upon the addition of an electrophile on nitrobenzene at the ortho, meta, and para...