Abstracts 2005 - The Psychonomic Society

Thursday Evening Posters 1106–1112
jects had to choose, between two strings of letters, the one that was
flashed on the screen. Subjects had higher accuracy for words than for
nonwords. The parameters of the overlap model associated with the
encoding of letter positions did not change dramatically from words
to nonwords; hence, the word superiority effect might be related to
processes that occur after the positions of the letters are encoded. In
the second experiment, the model accounts for performance in a
forced choice task in which one or both alternatives have repeated letters.
Repeated letters have been a problem for models of encoding of
letter position. The overlap model can account for the data in this experiment
by assuming that contiguous repeated letters are encoded as
a unit.
(1106)
The Effect of Mask Category on Letter Detection and Identification.
STEVEN J. HAASE, Shippensburg University, GARY D. FISK, Georgia
Southwestern State University, & ERIC SZELENYI & JOSEPH
HARKINS, Shippensburg University—Following up on our study
from last year, we continue testing Snodgrass, Bernat, and Shevrin’s
model of unconscious perception (P&P, 2004). Their model predicts
above-chance identification given chance detection, under certain task
and strategy combinations. We compared detection and identification
of one of four letters (D, J, K, M ). In one experiment, the masks were
numbers (e.g., 2, 5, 8); in the other, the masks were letters (e.g., F, Q,
Z ). Both detection and identification sensitivity were much higher in
the number mask experiment. Identification was accurately predicted
from detection according to signal detection theory, indicating no evidence
for unconscious perception. In partial support of their model,
we found above-chance identification when participants preferred and
used the “look” strategy (M = 0.315, p = .012) in the letter mask experiment,
where overall detection sensitivity was not significantly
above chance. However, the “look” strategy is defined as one involving
conscious perceptual processes.
(1107)
The Influence of Multiple Reading on the Missing-Letter Effect
Revisited. JEAN SAINT-AUBIN, Université de Moncton, RAYMOND
M. KLEIN, Dalhousie University, & ANNIE ROY-CHARLAND, Université
de Moncton—When participants search for a target letter while
reading, they make more omissions if the target letter is embedded in
frequent function words than in less frequent content words. According
to the GO model, this occurs because high-frequency function words
are processed faster than low-frequency content words. This hypothesis
was tested in two experiments (n = 24 and n = 72) by increasing
word processing speed through text repetition which should translate
into higher omission rates. Participants either read the text once while
performing the letter search task or read it three times and performed
the letter search task on the third reading. Contrary to the predictions
of the GO model, omission rate did not increase over repetition, and
it even decreased when readers knew from the first reading which letter
would be used for the letter search task on the third reading.
• DISCOURSE PROCESSES •
(1108)
The Contributions of Lexico-Semantic and Discourse Influences to
the Resolution of Ambiguous Categorical Anaphors. TALI DITMAN
& PHILLIP J. HOLCOMB, Tufts University, & GINA R. KUPERBERG,
Massachusetts General Hospital—The present studies employed eventrelated
potentials (ERPs) to examine the time course for the integration
of lexico-semantic and discourse information—namely, the resolution
of categorical anaphors. Scenarios were constructed to include
three potential antecedents. Anaphors were semantically ambiguous
in that two of the potential antecedents were exemplars of the anaphor.
Final sentences resolved the anaphor with the correct (associatively
related/contextually appropriate), incorrect (associatively related/
contextually inappropriate), or control antecedent (associatively
unrelated/contextually inappropriate). We examined the amplitude of
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the N400 waveform, which is thought to reflect the ease of semantic
integration, at several points following the anaphor. Results demonstrated
that (1) the N400 is sensitive to the integration of multiple types
of information at the discourse level, (2) readers use lexico-semantic
and discourse-level information in integrating incoming words into a
larger discourse, and (3) following an anaphor, a correct antecedent
is more easily semantically integrated into the preceding context.
(1109)
The Role of Connectives in Maintaining the Local Coherence of a
Text. ALEXANDRIA E. GUZMÁN, University of New Haven—The
hypothesis that connectives aid in the maintenance of local coherence
by allowing readers to form expectations regarding the nature of the
unfolding text was tested in four experiments. In Experiment 1, when
readers were asked to continue a story, the presence of a temporal connective
(meanwhile) led them to form specific expectations about the
nature of the continuations. In contrast, the results of a recognition
task in Experiment 2 indicated that readers do not form specific expectations
about the forthcoming text when they encounter the temporal
connective. Finally, data from a reading time task in Experiments
3 and 4 indicated that although connectives do not seem to
allow readers to generate expectations about the unfolding text, they
do aid readers in the integration of the texts they link. These data suggest
that readers often form underspecified, incomplete representations
of a text rather than a detailed analysis of its content.
(1110)
Distance Effects on the Resolution of Inconsistent Anaphors in
Discourse Processing. KATHRYN H. CHACE, JEROME L. MYERS,
& KEITH RAYNER, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (sponsored
by Nancy A. Myers)—Previous research (Cook, 2003) has explored
distance effects on anaphoric resolution across passages with
consistent and inconsistent antecedents. In a self-paced reading task,
Cook found no effects of distance on how long it took to read the line
containing the anaphor or the spillover line. We used eye tracking to
examine these effects further. Thirty-six passages were used in a 3
(distance: close vs. intermediate vs. far) � 2 (anaphoric congruency)
repeated measures design. In agreement with Cook’s results, there
were no main effects or interactions in first-pass measures of the
anaphor and spillover regions. However, when total time and regressions
into the antecedent region were examined, there were both a
main effect of congruency and an interaction in which more time was
spent reading the incongruent close antecedent than the congruent
close antecedent. These results suggest that eye-tracking data are necessary
to get a complete picture when studying anaphoric resolution.
(1111)
Processing Temporal Information in Narratives: Evidence From Eye
Movements. KRISTIN M. WEINGARTNER & JEROME L. MYERS,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst—In one eye movement experiment,
we examined how the temporal contour of narrative events influences
comprehension. On the basis of the findings from self-paced
reading and recognition probe studies (e.g., Zwaan, 1996; Zwaan,
Madden, & Whitten, 2000), there were two main predictions: First,
time adverbials that signal a time shift (after an hour versus after a
moment) will lead to an increased processing load, resulting in longer
reading times on the time adverbial. Second, the duration of an event
will influence its accessibility following a time shift. More specifically,
reading times on anaphoric references to event information will
be longer following a time shift for discontinued events (the student
stopped studying) than for ongoing events (the student was studying)
that typically persist beyond the temporal boundaries imposed by the
time shift. The results provide partial support for these predictions and
are discussed in the context of theories of situation model updating.
(1112)
Inference Specificity and Its Effect on the Encoding of Predictive
Inferences. MARK A. CASTEEL, Pennsylvania State University, York—