Abstract
This paper presents a study of the effect of working memory load on the interpretation of pronouns in different discourse contexts: stories with and without a topic shift. We discuss a computational model (in ACT-R, Anderson, 2007) to explain how referring expressions are acquired and used. On the basis of simulations of this model, it is predicted that WM constraints only affect adults' pronoun resolution in stories with a topic shift, but not in stories without a topic shift. This latter prediction was tested in an experiment. The results of this experiment confirm that WM load reduces adults' sensitivity to discourse cues signaling a topic shift, thus influencing their interpretation of subsequent pronouns.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 564-580 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Topics in Cognitive Science |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul-2013 |
Keywords
- Working memory load
- Language processing
- Cognitive modeling
- Pronouns
- WORKING-MEMORY
- INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES
- RESOLUTION
- COMPREHENSION