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Semantic and Syntactic Interference in Sentence Comprehension: A Comparison of Working Memory Models
Yingying Tan1, Randi C Martin1, Julie A Van Dyke2
1Department of Psychology, Rice University Houston, TX, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 7, 2017
Summary
Individual differences in working memory capacity influence how people process sentences, affecting their ability to resolve retrieval interference during comprehension.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Sentence comprehension relies on complex working memory processes.
- Retrieval interference occurs when similar sentence elements compete for access.
- Understanding individual differences in interference effects can illuminate working memory architecture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individual differences in working memory capacity relate to sensitivity to retrieval interference during sentence processing.
- To examine the roles of syntactic and semantic interference in both online and offline sentence comprehension.
- To explore the relationship between working memory, short-term memory, vocabulary, and executive functions in resolving interference.
Main Methods:
- Individual differences in sensitivity to syntactic and semantic interference were measured during sentence comprehension tasks (self-paced reading, comprehension questions).
- Participants completed working memory, short-term memory, vocabulary, and executive function assessments.
- Statistical analyses examined the predictive power of working memory and other cognitive abilities on interference effects.
Main Results:
- General working memory capacity predicted syntactic interference during online sentence comprehension, independent of vocabulary.
- Working memory and vocabulary knowledge interacted to influence semantic interference resolution in offline comprehension accuracy.
- Semantic short-term memory capacity predicted reaction times for comprehension questions, specifically for semantic interference.
Conclusions:
- Working memory capacity and semantic knowledge play distinct but interacting roles in resolving retrieval interference during sentence comprehension.
- Existing theoretical models of working memory and sentence processing require refinement to account for these findings.
- Future research should focus on reconciling different theoretical perspectives to better understand the working memory system.
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