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Published on: September 5, 2019
Saying what's on your mind: working memory effects on sentence production
1Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. slevc@umd.edu
Summary
Sentence production relies on working memory (WM). Speakers produced accessible information earlier when not under verbal WM load, demonstrating WM
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Working memory (WM) is crucial for sentence comprehension.
- The role of WM in sentence production remains under-explored.
- Speakers may favor syntactic structures enabling early access to memory-bound information.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how memory mechanisms, specifically working memory, influence sentence production.
- Examine the impact of verbal WM load on the early production of accessible information.
- Determine if accessibility effects in sentence production reflect verbal WM mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted to assess speakers' sentence production.
- Experiment 1 manipulated verbal WM load during sentence production.
- Experiments 2 and 3 manipulated information accessibility (given-new ordering) and WM load (verbal vs. spatial).
Main Results:
- Verbal WM load reduced the tendency to produce accessible information early.
- This effect was consistent with both manipulated accessibility and given-new ordering.
- Verbal WM load had a greater impact than spatial WM load, supporting a WM mechanism.
Conclusions:
- Accessibility effects in sentence production are mediated by verbal working memory.
- Sentence production representations are susceptible to interference from concurrent memory information.
- Working memory plays a significant role in the real-time processes of sentence generation.
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