PSY 369: Psycholinguistics Language Comprehension: From sentences to discourse

Propositions A mouse bit a cat bit (mouse, cat) How do we represent sentence meaning? Propositions Two or more concepts with a relationship between them Can represent this within a network framework mouse bit cat agent patient relation

Deriving Propositions More complex example: Children who are slow eat bread that is cold Slow children Children eat bread Bread is cold relation subject time relation subject SlowChildren PastEat Cold Bread

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Tested 3 hypotheses: 1. Sentences stored as single unit 2. Sentences stored as connected propositions 3. Sentences stored verbatim

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Study-Recognition Test Task Read sets of 4 unrelated sentences, then presented words (one at a time) and asked whether the words were in the preceding sentences Dependent Measure: Priming - manipulated the order of the words at test The mausoleum that enshrined the tsar overlooked the square. The clutch failed to engage. The beggar forgave injustice but resented hunger. Satire hurt the incumbent. hunger Y Saturn N square Y mausoleum Y beetle N

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Involves two propositions: P1 [OVERLOOK, MAUSOLEUM, SQUARE] P2 [ENSHRINE, MAUSOLEUM, TSAR]. The mausoleum that enshrined the tsar overlooked the square. The clutch failed to engage. The beggar forgave injustice but resented hunger. Satire hurt the incumbent.

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Predictions ( if Hypothesis 2: propositions are the memory representation ): If prime word from the same sentence, then should respond faster If prime word from the same proposition, then should respond faster than if from a different proposition (within the same sentence) The mausoleum that enshrined the tsar overlooked the square. The clutch failed to engage. square clutch Across sentences Between two propositions in the same sentence square tsar square mausoleum Within a single proposition

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Predictions ( if Hypothesis 2: propositions are the memory representation ): If prime word from the same sentence, then should respond faster If prime word from the same proposition, then should respond faster than if from a different proposition (within the same sentence) square clutch Across sentences Between two propositions in the same sentence Within a single proposition Results **111 msec**91 msec square mausoleum square tsar

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Predictions ( if Hypothesis 2: propositions are the memory representation ): If prime word from the same sentence, then should respond faster If prime word from the same proposition, then should respond faster than if from a different proposition (within the same sentence) square clutch Across sentences Between two propositions in the same sentence Within a single proposition Results **20 msec square mausoleum square tsar

Priming Propositions Ratcliff and McKoon (1978) Predictions ( if Hypothesis 2: propositions are the memory representation ): If prime word from the same sentence, then should respond faster If prime word from the same proposition, then should respond faster than if from a different proposition (within the same sentence) Conclusions Support the hypothesis that propositions are used to organize our memories of sentences

Arguments against propositions Propositions are symbolic Referential problem: Disconnected with outside world (symbols referring to other symbols) Implementation problem: Has been very difficult to develop a propositional parser Lack of scientific productivity: More work on what you can do with propositions than is there evidence of the psychological reality of propositions Lack of a biological foundation: How do biological (or neurological) data constrain propositions

Embodiment in language Embodied representations Perceptual and motor systems play a central role in language production and comprehension Theoretical proposals Linguistics: Lakoff, Langacker, Talmy Neuroscience: Damasio, Edelman Cognitive psychology: Barsalou, Gibbs, Glenberg, MacWhinney Computer science: Steels, Feldman

Embodiment in language Embodied representations Perceptual and motor systems play a central role in language production and comprehension Words and sentences are usually grounded to perceptual, motoric, and emotional experiences. In absence of immediate sensory-motor referents, words and sentences refer to mental models or simulations of experience § Simulation hypothesis § Simulation exploits some of the same neural structures activated during performance, perception, imagining, memory… Language gives us enough information to simulate

Inference in comprehension Not all propositions come from the bottom-up Elaboration - integration of new information with information from long term memory Memory for the new information improves as it is integrated Inferences - a proposition (or other representation) drawn by the comprehender From LTM, not directly from the input

We draw inferences in the course of understanding new events. The inferences get encoded into our memory of the events. e.g., drawing inferences of instruments Bransford, and colleagues (1972, 73) Inference in comprehension

Saw (or heard): John was trying to fix the birdhouse. He was looking for the nail when his father came out to watch him and to help him do the work. Bransford, and colleagues (1972, 73) Tested: John was using the hammer to fix the birdhouse when his father came out to watch him and to help him do the work. Inference in comprehension was not mentioned in the text, but was inferred Result: Participants falsely believed that they had heard this sentence So memory is not only of propositions in the original sentence, but may also include additional propositions that may have been inferred

Summing up The results of sentence comprehension are meaning representations Some debate over what these representations are Whatever they are, they get integrated with existing knowledge from LTM

Discourse Psycholinguistics Traditional Psycholinguistics Determining what happens when we understand sentences Broader View How we resolve/understand sentences against the current discourse representation Sentence comprehension is a process that anchors the interpretation of the sentence to the representation of the prior text

Processing Discourse What is discourse? Units of analysis larger than a sentence Applies to both spoken and written forms Ways we process (i.e., comprehend and remember) units of language larger than a sentence lectures personal narratives expository discourse …

Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

To whom does “him” refer to? Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

To whom does “him” refer?Bach Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

To whom does this “him” refer? Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

To whom does this “him” refer?Bach again Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

To whom does this “him” refer?Bach again Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.” Why not Abe?

Huh!? Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.”

Huh!? Bill and Ted traveled through time and space. Bill asked, “Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store, but I haven’t found Abe yet. Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks!” “Excellent! Man, we’ve got to get these dudes back to school before we get there.” Oh yeah, they’re time travelers.

Characteristics of Discourse Local Structure (microstructure): The relationship between individual sentences Global Structure (macrostructure): The relationship between the sentences and our knowledge of the world

Characteristics of Discourse Local Structure: Coherence: Does the passage make sense Logical consistency and semantic continuity Cohesion: Does the discourse “stick together” Interpretation of one sentence depends on other sentences

Characteristics of Discourse Coherence: does it make sense? Incoherence When the meanings of individual sentences do not hang together Given/new distinction Readers expect speakers to cues as to what information is old (already known by the listener) and what is new (not known)

Developing coherence Haviland and Clark (1974) Process of understanding a sentence in discourse context involves 3 stages: identifying the given and new info in the current sentence finding an antecedent in memory for the given information attaching the new information to this spot in memory

Developing coherence Haviland and Clark (1974) Herb unpacked some beer. The beer was warm.

Developing coherence Haviland and Clark (1974) Herb unpacked some beer. The beer was warm. Definite article “the” signals that “the beer” is given information

Developing coherence Haviland and Clark (1974) Herb unpacked some beer. The beer was warm. Definite article “the” signals that “the beer” is given information Connect the new information “was warm” to the appropriate discourse concept

Developing coherence Haviland and Clark (1974) Herb unpacked some beer. The beer was warm. Definite article “the” signals that “the beer” is given information Connect the new information “was warm” to the appropriate discourse concept “some beer” This process is called Direct Matching

Developing coherence Herb unpacked some picnic supplies. The beer was warm. Definite article “the” signals that “the beer” is given information So connect the new information “was warm” to the appropriate discourse concept Need a bridging inference to connect “the warm beer” to “some picnic supplies” Haviland and Clark (1974)

“some beer” Direct Matching Bridging Inference “the beer” “some picnic supplies”“the beer” World knowledge Developing coherence Typical results Comprehended faster Takes more time

“Murray poured water on the fire.” “The fire went out.” Singer, Halldorson, Lear, & Andrusiak (1992) “Murray drank a glass of water.” “He watched the fire go out.” T/F “water extinguishes fire” Faster Requires inference No Required inference Suggests that the inference was made Developing coherence

Characteristics of Discourse Cohesion: Interpretation of one sentence depends on other sentences Referential Cohesion “Dude, you should hear him play…” Substitution Cohesion “We’ve got to get these dudes back to …” And many more See pg 160 of textbook for table of other categories of cohesion The relationship between the referring expression and the antecedent create referential cohesion of discourse

Types of Referential Cohesion Anaphoric Reference Using an expression to refer back to something previously mentioned in discourse “…Bach was in the music store …” “Dude, you should hear him play, he rocks.” Cataphoric Reference Using an expression to refer forward to something that is coming up in discourse Dude, did you find him?” “Yeah, Bach was in the music store...”

Reading Span Test Smaller reading spans = smaller working memory capacity Comprehending Anaphoric References Daneman and Carpenter (1980) Sitting with Richie, Archie, Walter and the rest of my gang in the Grill yesterday, I began to feel uneasy. Robbie had put a dime in the juke box. It was blaring one of the latest “Rock and Roll” favorites. I was studying, in horror, the reactions of my friends to the music. I was especially perturbed by the expression on my best friend’s face. Wayne looked intense and was pounding the table furiously to the beat. Now, I like most of the things other teenage boys like. I like girls with soft blonde hair, girls with dark curly hair, in fact all girls. I like milkshakes, football games and beach parties. I like denim jeans, fancy T-shirs and sneakers. It is not that I dislike rock music but I think it is supposed to be fun and not taken too seriously. And here he was, “all shook up” and serious over the crazy music. Comprehension task Reading a passage and answer questions about the referents of pronouns Question: Who was “all shook up” and serious over the music?

Reading Span Test Smaller reading spans = smaller working memory capacity Comprehending Anaphoric References Daneman and Carpenter (1980) Sitting with Richie, Archie, Walter and the rest of my gang in the Grill yesterday, I began to feel uneasy. Robbie had put a dime in the juke box. It was blaring one of the latest “Rock and Roll” favorites. I was studying, in horror, the reactions of my friends to the music. I was especially perturbed by the expression on my best friend’s face. Wayne looked intense and was pounding the table furiously to the beat. Now, I like most of the things other teenage boys like. I like girls with soft blonde hair, girls with dark curly hair, in fact all girls. I like milkshakes, football games and beach parties. I like denim jeans, fancy T-shirs and sneakers. It is not that I dislike rock music but I think it is supposed to be fun and not taken too seriously. And here he was, “all shook up” and serious over the crazy music. Comprehension task Reading a passage and answer questions about the referents of pronouns Question: Who was “all shook up” and serious over the music?

Reading Span Test Smaller reading spans = smaller working memory capacity Comprehending Anaphoric References Daneman and Carpenter (1980) Sitting with Richie, Archie, Walter and the rest of my gang in the Grill yesterday, I began to feel uneasy. Robbie had put a dime in the juke box. It was blaring one of the latest “Rock and Roll” favorites. I was studying, in horror, the reactions of my friends to the music. I was especially perturbed by the expression on my best friend’s face. Wayne looked intense and was pounding the table furiously to the beat. Now, I like most of the things other teenage boys like. I like girls with soft blonde hair, girls with dark curly hair, in fact all girls. I like milkshakes, football games and beach parties. I like denim jeans, fancy T-shirs and sneakers. It is not that I dislike rock music but I think it is supposed to be fun and not taken too seriously. And here he was, “all shook up” and serious over the crazy music. Comprehension task Reading a passage and answer questions about the referents of pronouns Question: Who was “all shook up” and serious over the music?

Manipulated how many sentences intervened between the pronoun and the antecedent Comprehending Anaphoric References Daneman and Carpenter (1980)

Characteristics of Discourse Global Structure (macrostructure): Jill bought a new sweater. Sweater are sometimes made of wool. Wool production gives some farmers a good livelihood. Farming is a high-risk business. On the news last night, I saw a group of business executives discussing recent trends in the stock market. The relationship between the sentences and our knowledge of the world

Characteristics of Discourse Global Structure (macrostructure): Jill bought a new sweater. Sweater are sometimes made of wool. Wool production gives some farmers a good livelihood. Farming is a high-risk business. On the news last night, I saw a group of business executives discussing recent trends in the stock market. Okay local structure, but each sentence isn’t relevant to an overall topic of discourse

Characteristics of Discourse Global Structure (macrostructure): Schemas & Scripts General knowledge structures for common social situations Genres Narrative structure Story grammars - extension of idea of grammatical rules, specify the organization of a story Expository structure Different structures

Effects of world knowledge Rocky slowly got up from the mat, planning his escape. He hesitated a moment and thought. Things were not going well. What bothered him most was being held, especially since the charges against him had been weak. He considered his present situation. The lock that held him was strong but he thought he could break it. He knew, however, that his timing would have to be perfect. Prison escape OR Wrestling match

Effects of world knowledge Bartlett (1932) Schema a whole package of information used to facilitate comprehension of discourse Read native American folk tale Participants’ memories changed to fit their existing beliefs Added new details Changed details Deleted details

Effects of world knowledge Scripts Generic story of situations Go inside Go to table Sit down Scene 1: Enter Scene 2: Order Get menu Read menu Choose food Give order Scene 3: Eat Get food Eat food Scene 4: Pay Ask for check Received check Tip waiter Pay check Exit Restaurant Script

Effects of world knowledge What happened to semantic networks? One explanation Some representations get so strongly associated that they get activated as an entire unit

Narrative structure Once there was a woman. She saw a tiger’s cave. She wanted a tiger’s whisker. She put food in front of the cave. The tiger came out. She pulled out a whisker. The story has a structure, a story grammar

Narrative structure Story grammar - can depict with a tree structure Story SettingEpisode EventReaction GoalOvert ResponseActionConsequence Event Once there was a woman. She saw a tiger’s cave. She wanted a tiger’s whisker. She put food in front of the cave. The tiger came out.She pulled out a whisker.

Narrative structure Thorndyke (1977) Level effect Read more slowly but are better remembered. She wanted a tiger’s whisker. The tiger came out. High hierarchy statements Lower in the hierarchy.

Trabasso & Suh (1993) Sequential version Once there was a girl named Betty. One day, Betty found that her mother’s birthday was coming soon. Betty really wanted to give her mother a present. Betty went to the department store. Betty found a pretty purse. Betty bought the purse. Her mother was very happy. Several days later, Betty saw her friend knitting. Betty was good at knitting. Betty decided to knit a sweater. Betty selected a pattern from a magazine. Betty followed the instructions in the article. Finally, Betty finished a beautiful sweater. Betty pressed the sweater. Betty folded the sweater carefully. Betty put it in the closet for the next time she was going out. Berry was very happy. Betty found that everything was too expensive. Betty could not buy anything. Betty felt sorry. Betty gave the sweater to her mother. Her mother was excited when she saw the present. Hierarchical version

Characteristics of Discourse Test to see if structure effects whether inferences are made How does “Betty really wanted to give her mother a present” connect up with other statements in the story? Trabasso & Suh (1993)

Hierarchical version Betty was good at knitting. Betty decided to knit a sweater. Betty selected a pattern from a magazine. Betty followed the instructions in the article. Finally, Betty finished a beautiful sweater. Betty pressed the sweater. Betty folded the sweater carefully. Betty gave the sweater to her mother. Her mother was excited when she saw the present. S G A A O A A O R S E G A O O R E S = Setting E = Event R = Reaction G = Goal O = Overt Response A = Action Once there was a girl named Betty. One day, Betty found that her mother’s birthday was coming soon. Betty really wanted to give her mother a present. Betty went to the department store. Betty found that everything was too expensive. Betty could not buy anything. Betty felt sorry. Several days later, Betty saw her friend knitting.

Trabasso & Suh (1993) Once there was a girl named Betty. One day, Betty found that her mother’s birthday was coming soon. Betty really wanted to give her mother a present. Betty went to the department store. Betty found that everything was too expensive. Betty could not buy anything. Betty felt sorry. Several days later, Betty saw her friend knitting. Hierarchical version Betty was good at knitting. Betty decided to knit a sweater. Betty selected a pattern from a magazine. Betty followed the instructions in the article. Finally, Betty finished a beautiful sweater. Betty pressed the sweater. Betty folded the sweater carefully. Betty gave the sweater to her mother. Her mother was excited when she saw the present. SEGAOOR E S G A A O A A O R SGAAO AAOR S E G A O O R E Is a superordinate goal that motivates the subgoal of the next episode

Trabasso & Suh (1993) Once there was a girl named Betty. One day, Betty found that her mother’s birthday was coming soon. Betty really wanted to give her mother a present. Betty went to the department store. Betty found a pretty purse. Betty bought the purse. Her mother was very happy. Several days later, Betty saw her friend knitting. Sequential version Betty was good at knitting. Betty decided to knit a sweater. Betty selected a pattern from a magazine. Betty followed the instructions in the article. Finally, Betty finished a beautiful sweater. Betty pressed the sweater. Betty folded the sweater carefully. Betty put it in the closet for the next time she was going out. Berry was very happy. S G A A O A A O R S E G A O O R E SEGAOOR ESGAAOAAO The goal is already filled, so not related to the subgoal of the next episode

Trabasso & Suh (1993) Results In a think aloud task, participants mentioned the superordinate goal in the hierarchical condition but not the sequential condition Story grammar structure matters Strongly support the hypothesis that readers do make global causal connections during reading.

Expository Structure Reading texts, listening to lectures, etc. Organized with different relationships (but can still draw a tree structure) Relationships Collection - ideas or events related on the basis of some commonality Causation - ideas are joined causally so that one idea is identified as the antecedent and another as the consequence Response - ideas are joined in a problem/solution or question/answer relationship Comparison - ideas are related by pointing out similarities and differences Description - general ideas are explained by giving attributes or other specific details

Discourse in memory Kintsch’s model The Construction-Integration Model Discourse occurs in a series of cycles As each sentence comes in it gets integrated into the discourse In each cycle Construction phase - activate relevant concepts Integration phase - keep only the most relevant elaborations Multiple levels of representation formed Surface form, textbase, situation model

Discourse in memory Kintsch and colleagues (1990) Jack scanned the newspaper. Jack looked through the newspaper. Jack looked through the movie ads. Jack looked over some editorials. It was Friday night and Jack and Melissa were bored, so they decided to catch a movie. Jack scanned the newspaper. He saw that they could just make the nine o’clock showing of the hot new romantic comedy. Off they went. Did this sentence occur in the paragraph? Read before

Discourse in memory Kintsch’s model Jack scanned the newspaper. Jackscannedthenewspaper S NVP NPV Surface form

Jackscannedthenewspaper S NVP NPV Surface form Discourse in memory Kintsch’s model Jack scanned the newspaper. Textbase Examine JackNewspaper

Jackscannedthenewspaper S NVP NPV Surface form Discourse in memory Kintsch’s model Jack scanned the newspaper. Textbase Examine JackNewspaper Situational Model

Discourse in memory Kintsch and colleagues (1990) Jack scanned the newspaper. Jack looked through the newspaper. Jack looked through the movie ads. Jack looked over some editorials. It was Friday night and Jack and Melissa were bored, so they decided to catch a movie. Jack scanned the newspaper. He saw that they could just make the nine o’clock showing of the hot new romantic comedy. Off they went. Did this sentence occur in the paragraph? Read before Evidence for surface form Similar meaning If Better memory here

Discourse in memory Kintsch and colleagues (1990) Jack scanned the newspaper. Jack looked through the newspaper. Jack looked through the movie ads. Jack looked over some editorials. It was Friday night and Jack and Melissa were bored, so they decided to catch a movie. Jack scanned the newspaper. He saw that they could just make the nine o’clock showing of the hot new romantic comedy. Off they went. Did this sentence occur in the paragraph? Read before Evidence for Strong textbase If Better memory here Adds inference Infers which section did he scan.

Discourse in memory Kintch and colleagues (1990) Jack scanned the newspaper. Jack looked through the newspaper. Jack looked through the movie ads. Jack looked over some editorials. It was Friday night and Jack and Melissa were bored, so they decided to catch a movie. Jack scanned the newspaper. He saw that they could just make the nine o’clock showing of the hot new romantic comedy. Off they went. Did this sentence occur in the paragraph? Evidence for Strong situation model inconsistent If Better memory here consistent Consistent with situation model.

Discourse in memory Kintch and colleagues (1990)

Summary Discourse processing is both complex and flexible Multiple representations Processing depends on context