Vocabulary knowledge predicts individual differences in the integration of visual and linguistic constraints

Date

2022-01-10

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

Two experiments investigated individual differences in the integration of visual and linguistic constraints during syntactic ambiguity resolution. Skilled adult comprehenders heard sentences like “Put the kiwi on the rectangle on the circle”, in which “on the rectangle…” could temporarily reflect either the destination of “put” or a modifier of “kiwi”, while viewing visual arrays with either 1 kiwi (e.g., on a rectangle) or 2 kiwis (e.g., on a rectangle vs. triangle). While the noun “kiwi” provided sufficient information to distinguish the object of interest in the 1 referent context, modification was necessitated by the 2 referent context. Garden path eye (Experiment 1) and mouse (Experiment 2) movements to the incorrect (e.g., rectangle) destination were reduced in 2 vs 1 referent contexts, conceptually replicating prior findings, and these effects were weaker for participants with less vs. more vocabulary knowledge. Implications for models of sentence processing are discussed.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.

Keywords

individual differences, language experience, syntactic ambiguity resolution, visual world paradigm, vocabulary knowledge

Citation

Kukona, A., Gaziano, O., Bisson, M., and Jordan, A. (2022). Vocabulary knowledge predicts individual differences in the integration of visual and linguistic constraints. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 37 (6), pp. 750-765

Rights

Research Institute