In this paper we present a summary review of recent psychological studies which make a contributi... more In this paper we present a summary review of recent psychological studies which make a contribution to an understanding of how quantifiers are used. Until relatively recently, the contribution which psychology has made has been somewhat restricted. For example, the approach which ...
... QUANTIFIERS AND FOCUS LINDA M. MOXEY and ANTHONY J. SANFORD ... These quantity expressions di... more ... QUANTIFIERS AND FOCUS LINDA M. MOXEY and ANTHONY J. SANFORD ... These quantity expressions differ in other ways too. For example, the appli-cation of a tag question (Klima 1964) shows the quantity expressions in (l)-(3) to be negative, while (4) and (5) are positive: ...
... Failure to find such a referent leads to processing difficulty (eg, Sanford, Garrod, Lucas, &... more ... Failure to find such a referent leads to processing difficulty (eg, Sanford, Garrod, Lucas, & Henderson, 198314. Sanford, AJ, Garrod, SC, Lucas, A. and Henderson, RJ 1983. Pronouns without explicit antecedents?. ... Sanford, AJ and Garrod, SC 1981. ...
... 1st 2nd 2168 2450 2177 2472 in terms of episodes. They observed that the subject used pronoun... more ... 1st 2nd 2168 2450 2177 2472 in terms of episodes. They observed that the subject used pronouns to refer to a character in a central role within an already established action sequence, whereasproper names were reserved for re-establishing antecedents into a central role. ...
The study of processes underlying the interpretation of language often produces evidence that the... more The study of processes underlying the interpretation of language often produces evidence that they are complete and occur incrementally. However, computational linguistics has shown that interpretations are often effective even if they are underspecified. We present evidence that similar underspecified representations are used by humans during comprehension, drawing on a scattered and varied literature. We also show how linguistic properties of focus, subordination and focalization can control depth of processing, leading to underspecified representations. Modulation of degrees of specification might provide a way forward in the development of models of the processing underlying language understanding.
Mesocosms provide a powerful tool for investigating bacterial dynamics at small scales; however, ... more Mesocosms provide a powerful tool for investigating bacterial dynamics at small scales; however, even these controlled studies are not exempt from spatial influences. Differences in mesocosm shape and size may have profound effects on the enclosed community since these features may influence the behavior of the system. Studies were conducted in mesocosms of varying dimensions (narrow, deep and wide, shallow tanks) and volumes (0.1, 1, and 10 m3) in an attempt to decipher effects attributable to changes in container size and shape. Both mesocosm volume and shape affected the course of bacterial growth following containment. Bacterial abundance and production were high in both groups of 0.1 m3 tanks and in the large, wide, shallow tanks with the greatest light supply at depth. Differences in bacterial growth between differently shaped tanks (i.e., differing wall area to volume ratios) were observed among equal volume enclosures, with faster growth in the wide/shallow tanks. Light avai...
ABSTRACT Processing of discourse seems to be far from uniform with much evidence indicating that ... more ABSTRACT Processing of discourse seems to be far from uniform with much evidence indicating that it can be quite shallow. The question is then what modulates depth of processing? A range of discourse devices exist that we believe may lead to more detailed processing of language input (Attention Capturers), thus serving as modulators of processing enabling some parts of discourse to be processed more than others. We list some of these and describe two in detail. We introduce the text-change procedure in which texts are presented twice in succession with a possible change to a word on the second presentation. By analogy with visual change-blindness, text change provides a method of tracking attention capture and depth of processing in text. In Experiment 1, the effect of italicization in writing was investigated. Italicization led to an increase in change detection. In Experiment 2, we investigated focus-driven word stress in speaking. Once again, focus-driven stress led to increases in change detection. These examples show how word stress increases depth of processing. We discuss the findings in terms of the Granularity account of focus, in which deeper processing is characterized as a more detailed semantic specification.
Two experiments are described that examine the role of speed in the categorisation of affective b... more Two experiments are described that examine the role of speed in the categorisation of affective biological motion displays. For the first experiment movements were recorded for 10 affects and the point-light animations of them were shown to participants in a recognition task. The resultant confusion matrices were analysed using the ALSCAL multi-dimensional scaling procedure and produced a 2-dimensional psychological space.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
It is commonplace to use the pronoun they to refer to agents in certain situations without ever p... more It is commonplace to use the pronoun they to refer to agents in certain situations without ever providing a referent, as in On the train, they served really bad coffee. Such an example we call "Institutional They", because such defaults typically represent the actions of some agent tied stereotypically to a situation. These cases represent an important subset of unheralded pronouns (Gerrig, 1986), pronouns without any explicit antecedent. While in many situations, the occurrence of referential pronouns without explicit antecedents entails a processing cost, an eye-tracking experiment revealed no reliable detectable costs associated with Institutional They. However, there were for singular pronouns without antecedents in the same situations. We argue that Institutional They cases result from properties of plural pronouns (they and them). These will accept underspecified type-referents, while singular pronouns require specified token-referents. Failure to identify token-referents results in disruption of processing in the case of singulars, but not in the case of the plurals.
Positive and negative quantifiers induce two very different perspectives in comprehenders—perspec... more Positive and negative quantifiers induce two very different perspectives in comprehenders—perspectives that have strong applications to rhetoric and communication. These are briefly reviewed. A potential mechanism, based on earlier work, is introduced, resting on the idea that negatively quantified sentences (like Not all of the boys went to the party) may be given interpretations that both consist of an asserted
Counterfactual reasoning is valid reasoning arising from premises that are true in a hypothetical... more Counterfactual reasoning is valid reasoning arising from premises that are true in a hypothetical model, but false in actuality. Investigations of counterfactuals have concentrated on reasoning and production, but psycholinguistic research has been more limited. We report three eye-movement studies investigating the comprehension of counterfac- tual information. Prior context depicted a counterfactual world (CW), or real world (RW), while a
Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition - J EXP PSYCHOL-LEARN MEM COGN, 1997
... We are also grateful to Holly Branigan, Michael Bybee, Jennifer Deaton, Simon Garrod, Morton ... more ... We are also grateful to Holly Branigan, Michael Bybee, Jennifer Deaton, Simon Garrod, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Simon Liversedge, Martin Pickering, members of the Language Processing group at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and over 100 people who ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 1983
... Login to save citations to My List. Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. The acce... more ... Login to save citations to My List. Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. The accessibility of pronominal antecedents as a function of episode shifts in narrative text. Anderson, A.; Garrod, SC; Sanford, AJ. The Quarterly ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
We report an eye-tracking study in which participants read passages containing difficult-to-detec... more We report an eye-tracking study in which participants read passages containing difficult-to-detect semantic anomalies. Would there be any evidence of the registration of the anomaly within the comprehension system (reflected in eye tracking) when anomalies were not noticed? Using early and late processing measures, there was no evidence for registration independent of conscious detection. Comparisons were made between detected and undetected anomalies and between these and nonanomalous controls. There was evidence of disruption to the tracking measures only when a conscious report was also made. These data fit the view that shallow semantic processing underlies the failure to detect anomalies. Implications for language processing are discussed.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2007
The plural pronouns they and them are used to refer to individuals with unknown gender and when a... more The plural pronouns they and them are used to refer to individuals with unknown gender and when a random allocation of gender is undesirable. Despite this apparently felicitous usage, "singular they/them" should raise processing problems under the theory that pronouns seek gender- and number-matched antecedents. Using eye-tracking, we investigated whether there was any processing cost associated with using singular they/them. There was a clear cost of number incompatibility for they/them. Thus, although singular they/them is in current usage, it does not appear that they/them is immediately tolerant of a plural antecedent, though such may be rapidly accommodated. The data are consistent with the search account of pronoun resolution and preserve the semantics of they/them as denoting plurality.
In this paper we present a summary review of recent psychological studies which make a contributi... more In this paper we present a summary review of recent psychological studies which make a contribution to an understanding of how quantifiers are used. Until relatively recently, the contribution which psychology has made has been somewhat restricted. For example, the approach which ...
... QUANTIFIERS AND FOCUS LINDA M. MOXEY and ANTHONY J. SANFORD ... These quantity expressions di... more ... QUANTIFIERS AND FOCUS LINDA M. MOXEY and ANTHONY J. SANFORD ... These quantity expressions differ in other ways too. For example, the appli-cation of a tag question (Klima 1964) shows the quantity expressions in (l)-(3) to be negative, while (4) and (5) are positive: ...
... Failure to find such a referent leads to processing difficulty (eg, Sanford, Garrod, Lucas, &... more ... Failure to find such a referent leads to processing difficulty (eg, Sanford, Garrod, Lucas, & Henderson, 198314. Sanford, AJ, Garrod, SC, Lucas, A. and Henderson, RJ 1983. Pronouns without explicit antecedents?. ... Sanford, AJ and Garrod, SC 1981. ...
... 1st 2nd 2168 2450 2177 2472 in terms of episodes. They observed that the subject used pronoun... more ... 1st 2nd 2168 2450 2177 2472 in terms of episodes. They observed that the subject used pronouns to refer to a character in a central role within an already established action sequence, whereasproper names were reserved for re-establishing antecedents into a central role. ...
The study of processes underlying the interpretation of language often produces evidence that the... more The study of processes underlying the interpretation of language often produces evidence that they are complete and occur incrementally. However, computational linguistics has shown that interpretations are often effective even if they are underspecified. We present evidence that similar underspecified representations are used by humans during comprehension, drawing on a scattered and varied literature. We also show how linguistic properties of focus, subordination and focalization can control depth of processing, leading to underspecified representations. Modulation of degrees of specification might provide a way forward in the development of models of the processing underlying language understanding.
Mesocosms provide a powerful tool for investigating bacterial dynamics at small scales; however, ... more Mesocosms provide a powerful tool for investigating bacterial dynamics at small scales; however, even these controlled studies are not exempt from spatial influences. Differences in mesocosm shape and size may have profound effects on the enclosed community since these features may influence the behavior of the system. Studies were conducted in mesocosms of varying dimensions (narrow, deep and wide, shallow tanks) and volumes (0.1, 1, and 10 m3) in an attempt to decipher effects attributable to changes in container size and shape. Both mesocosm volume and shape affected the course of bacterial growth following containment. Bacterial abundance and production were high in both groups of 0.1 m3 tanks and in the large, wide, shallow tanks with the greatest light supply at depth. Differences in bacterial growth between differently shaped tanks (i.e., differing wall area to volume ratios) were observed among equal volume enclosures, with faster growth in the wide/shallow tanks. Light avai...
ABSTRACT Processing of discourse seems to be far from uniform with much evidence indicating that ... more ABSTRACT Processing of discourse seems to be far from uniform with much evidence indicating that it can be quite shallow. The question is then what modulates depth of processing? A range of discourse devices exist that we believe may lead to more detailed processing of language input (Attention Capturers), thus serving as modulators of processing enabling some parts of discourse to be processed more than others. We list some of these and describe two in detail. We introduce the text-change procedure in which texts are presented twice in succession with a possible change to a word on the second presentation. By analogy with visual change-blindness, text change provides a method of tracking attention capture and depth of processing in text. In Experiment 1, the effect of italicization in writing was investigated. Italicization led to an increase in change detection. In Experiment 2, we investigated focus-driven word stress in speaking. Once again, focus-driven stress led to increases in change detection. These examples show how word stress increases depth of processing. We discuss the findings in terms of the Granularity account of focus, in which deeper processing is characterized as a more detailed semantic specification.
Two experiments are described that examine the role of speed in the categorisation of affective b... more Two experiments are described that examine the role of speed in the categorisation of affective biological motion displays. For the first experiment movements were recorded for 10 affects and the point-light animations of them were shown to participants in a recognition task. The resultant confusion matrices were analysed using the ALSCAL multi-dimensional scaling procedure and produced a 2-dimensional psychological space.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
It is commonplace to use the pronoun they to refer to agents in certain situations without ever p... more It is commonplace to use the pronoun they to refer to agents in certain situations without ever providing a referent, as in On the train, they served really bad coffee. Such an example we call "Institutional They", because such defaults typically represent the actions of some agent tied stereotypically to a situation. These cases represent an important subset of unheralded pronouns (Gerrig, 1986), pronouns without any explicit antecedent. While in many situations, the occurrence of referential pronouns without explicit antecedents entails a processing cost, an eye-tracking experiment revealed no reliable detectable costs associated with Institutional They. However, there were for singular pronouns without antecedents in the same situations. We argue that Institutional They cases result from properties of plural pronouns (they and them). These will accept underspecified type-referents, while singular pronouns require specified token-referents. Failure to identify token-referents results in disruption of processing in the case of singulars, but not in the case of the plurals.
Positive and negative quantifiers induce two very different perspectives in comprehenders—perspec... more Positive and negative quantifiers induce two very different perspectives in comprehenders—perspectives that have strong applications to rhetoric and communication. These are briefly reviewed. A potential mechanism, based on earlier work, is introduced, resting on the idea that negatively quantified sentences (like Not all of the boys went to the party) may be given interpretations that both consist of an asserted
Counterfactual reasoning is valid reasoning arising from premises that are true in a hypothetical... more Counterfactual reasoning is valid reasoning arising from premises that are true in a hypothetical model, but false in actuality. Investigations of counterfactuals have concentrated on reasoning and production, but psycholinguistic research has been more limited. We report three eye-movement studies investigating the comprehension of counterfac- tual information. Prior context depicted a counterfactual world (CW), or real world (RW), while a
Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition - J EXP PSYCHOL-LEARN MEM COGN, 1997
... We are also grateful to Holly Branigan, Michael Bybee, Jennifer Deaton, Simon Garrod, Morton ... more ... We are also grateful to Holly Branigan, Michael Bybee, Jennifer Deaton, Simon Garrod, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Simon Liversedge, Martin Pickering, members of the Language Processing group at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and over 100 people who ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 1983
... Login to save citations to My List. Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. The acce... more ... Login to save citations to My List. Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. The accessibility of pronominal antecedents as a function of episode shifts in narrative text. Anderson, A.; Garrod, SC; Sanford, AJ. The Quarterly ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
We report an eye-tracking study in which participants read passages containing difficult-to-detec... more We report an eye-tracking study in which participants read passages containing difficult-to-detect semantic anomalies. Would there be any evidence of the registration of the anomaly within the comprehension system (reflected in eye tracking) when anomalies were not noticed? Using early and late processing measures, there was no evidence for registration independent of conscious detection. Comparisons were made between detected and undetected anomalies and between these and nonanomalous controls. There was evidence of disruption to the tracking measures only when a conscious report was also made. These data fit the view that shallow semantic processing underlies the failure to detect anomalies. Implications for language processing are discussed.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2007
The plural pronouns they and them are used to refer to individuals with unknown gender and when a... more The plural pronouns they and them are used to refer to individuals with unknown gender and when a random allocation of gender is undesirable. Despite this apparently felicitous usage, "singular they/them" should raise processing problems under the theory that pronouns seek gender- and number-matched antecedents. Using eye-tracking, we investigated whether there was any processing cost associated with using singular they/them. There was a clear cost of number incompatibility for they/them. Thus, although singular they/them is in current usage, it does not appear that they/them is immediately tolerant of a plural antecedent, though such may be rapidly accommodated. The data are consistent with the search account of pronoun resolution and preserve the semantics of they/them as denoting plurality.
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