Validating semantic illusions: Competition between context and general world knowledge

The RI-Val model of comprehension includes a validation process in which linkages formed by integration are matched against active memory. In five experiments, we investigated factors that influence validation. Reading times were measured on target sentences that contained either correct information or semantically related, but incorrect content. Experiment 1 demonstrated that strong contextual support for shared features between correct and incorrect terms delayed processing difficulty associated with incorrect information. Experiment 2 confirmed that contextual information needed to be available in memory in order to influence validation. Experiments 3a and 3b showed that strong contextual support for distinguishing features between correct and incorrect terms led to immediate processing difficulty associated with incorrect information, whereas features-in-common led to delayed difficulty. Experiments 4 and 5 showed that the timing of validation effects is sensitive to subtle changes in task demands. The combined results are consistent with the assumptions of the RI-Val model. (PsycINFO Database Record