Samenvatting
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.
Originele taal-2 | English |
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Pagina's (van-tot) | 564-580 |
Aantal pagina's | 17 |
Tijdschrift | Topics in Cognitive Science |
Volume | 5 |
Nummer van het tijdschrift | 3 |
DOI's | |
Status | Published - jul.-2013 |