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Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Arai, M; Nakamura, C; Mazuka, R
Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition
March 2015

A number of previous studies showed that comprehenders make use of lexically based constraints such as subcategorization frequency in processing structurally ambiguous sentences. One piece of such evidence is lexically specific syntactic priming in comprehension; following the costly processing of a temporarily ambiguous sentence, comprehenders experience less processing difficulty with the same structure with the same verb in subsequent processing. In previous studies using a reading paradigm, however, the effect was observed at or following disambiguating information and it is not known whether a priming effect affects only the process of resolving structural ambiguity following disambiguating input or it also affects the process before ambiguity is resolved. Using a visual world paradigm, the current study addressed this issue with Japanese relative clause sentences. Our results demonstrated that after experiencing the relative clause structure, comprehenders were more likely to predict the usually dispreferred structure immediately upon hearing the same verb. No compatible effect, in contrast, was observed on hearing a different verb. Our results are consistent with the constraint-based lexicalist view, which assumes the parallel activation of possible structural analyses at the verb. Our study demonstrated that an experience of a dispreferred structure activates the structural information in a lexically specific manner, leading comprehenders to predict another instance of the same structure on encountering the same verb.

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Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1939-1285

ISSN

0278-7393

Publication Date

March 2015

Volume

41

Issue

2

Start / End Page

482 / 500

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Vocabulary
  • Speech Perception
  • Semantics
  • Reading
  • Reaction Time
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Hearing
 

Citation

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Arai, M., Nakamura, C., & Mazuka, R. (2015). Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 41(2), 482–500. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038389
Arai, Manabu, Chie Nakamura, and Reiko Mazuka. “Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition 41, no. 2 (March 2015): 482–500. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038389.
Arai M, Nakamura C, Mazuka R. Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming. Journal of experimental psychology Learning, memory, and cognition. 2015 Mar;41(2):482–500.
Arai, Manabu, et al. “Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, vol. 41, no. 2, Mar. 2015, pp. 482–500. Epmc, doi:10.1037/a0038389.
Arai M, Nakamura C, Mazuka R. Predicting the unbeaten path through syntactic priming. Journal of experimental psychology Learning, memory, and cognition. 2015 Mar;41(2):482–500.

Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1939-1285

ISSN

0278-7393

Publication Date

March 2015

Volume

41

Issue

2

Start / End Page

482 / 500

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Vocabulary
  • Speech Perception
  • Semantics
  • Reading
  • Reaction Time
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Hearing