Sentence processing and memory

- the study of the processes by which readers and listeners comprehend the meaning of sentences.

- the processes of recognizing words and appreciating their meanings and syntactic features,
constructing syntactic and prosodic representations, and assigning thematic roles, focus and other
aspects of propositional and discourse-level semantics.

- Sentence comprehension is considered a relatively “deconstructionist” activity

- two basic approaches

1. To determine the relationship of individual differences in verbal working memory capacity to the
efficiency of sentence interpretation.
2. To investigate the pattern of mutual interference (or non-interference) of sentence
interpretation and concurrently holding a verbal load in short-term memory.

- short-term and working memory resources play a critical role in sentence comprehension

- short-term memory resources are an important source of sentence comprehension impairments.

- working memory refers to both the maintenance and manipulation of information, involving additional
processing resources above and beyond simple information storage.

- lexical-semantic maintenance may play a role when several semantic representations must be
maintained until they can be integrated into the corresponding syntactic structure

- specialized working memory system that underlies interpretive processing cannot be measured by
standard working memory tasks.

- domain-general Short-Term Memory/Working Memory resources may be used for “post-interpretive

processes.” - Caplan and Waters (1999)

- Post-interpretive processes refer to the ways in which one uses the results of interpretive processing

- Caplan and colleagues have proposed little role for domain-general capacity-limited memory system in
sentence comprehension.

Discourse level comprehension and memory

- Discourse is what makes us human, what allows us to communicate ideas, facts, and feelings across
time and space.

- Discourse comprehension involves building meaning from extended segments of language

- Successfully comprehending larger units of text and discourse requires making inferences to connect
ideas both within and across local and global discourse contexts.

- Establishing such connections relies on the integration of information from prior discourse contents, as
well as from prior knowledge.
- discourse comprehension relies on our memory.

- Text content has considerable impact on readers’ comprehension

- language serves as a set of processing cues or instructions that guide construction of memory for
discourse

- Lexical cues help to establish coherence among discourse elements

 Syntax
 Titles or topic headings
 Genre-based cues
 Genre knowledge
 Narrative
 Expository
 Procedural texts

- The most critical variable, prior knowledge, includes information recently activated in short term
memory and personal experiences, facts, ideas, and understandings stored in long term memory

- Both the quantity and quality of a reader’s prior knowledge affect comprehension.