Karla A. Lassonde

Contextual Specificity in the Activation of Predictive Inferences

There is general agreement that predictive inferences are activated when there is strong contextual support in the discourse model; however, there has been debate concerning the specificity of these inferences. In a series of 3 experiments, the specificity of context was manipulated to test the effects of contextual support on inference activation. Experiment 1 demonstrated that with less specific context, activation of predictive inferences could be captured by more than 1 lexical item. Experiment 2 confirmed that this outcome was a result of inference activation and not semantic priming. Experiment 3 demonstrated that as contextual support increases, inference activation becomes increasingly constrained. Results of all 3 experiments support the assumption that inferences are not activated in an all-or-none process.

The Activation and Instantiation of Instrumental Inferences.

Participants read a series of passages containing an action that required the use of an instrument. In Experiment 1, a naming task failed to detect activation of a target instrument when that instrument was supported in the preceding text. In Experiment 2, reading times were slow on a target sentence that contradicted the inferential information, indicating that instrument information had been activated. The combination of the results from Experiments 1 and 2 are consistent with the view that activation involves a set of features of a concept, not a specific lexical item. The results from Experiment 3 and 4 demonstrated the role of contextual support in the activation and instantiation of instrumental inferences.

The role of relevance in activation and instantiation of predictive inferences

Previous studies have demonstrated that activation of predictive inferences is often the product of a convergence of activation produced by the prior context, general world knowledge and the current input. This study investigated whether predictive inference activation is contingent upon the prior context being currently relevant to or consistent with the on-going discourse, an issue which is critical with respect to theories about updating of discourse representations. In Experiments 1 and 2, naming times to inference concepts were faster following an inference-evoking sentence than a baseline sentence, regardless of whether the inference was consistent or inconsistent with the prior context. In Experiment 3, reading times on a sentence that reinstated the inference were facilitated compared to a baseline condition, but only when the inference was consistent with the prior context. These results have implications for the process via which inferences are activated as well as the process governing inference instantiation. The results are discussed within the context of current models of discourse comprehension that encompass both activation and integration processes.

Source credibility and the processing of refutation texts.

The knowledge revision components framework (KReC) outlines the basic comprehension processes and text factors that can be accentuated to increase the potential for knowledge revision during reading. The goal of the present study was to explore source credibility as one such text factor. In Experiment 1, we established the utility of a set of refutation texts in influencing knowledge revision. Participants read ten refutation and ten control texts. The participants had faster reading times and higher posttest scores for the refutation than for the control texts, providing evidence for knowledge revision. In Experiment 2, we examined the influence of source credibility under normal reading conditions. Participants read 20 refutation texts, ten with high-credibility and ten with low-credibility sources. The reading times and posttest scores suggested that knowledge revision unfolded successfully, independent of credibility. Using the same texts, in Experiment 3 we examined the influence of direct instructions that made the credibility of the source of information more salient. When the credibility of the source was made salient, the revision process was disrupted in the low-credibility condition, as evidenced by slower reading times and lower posttest scores than in the high-credibility condition. The results add to our understanding of the factors that constrain knowledge revision during the reading of refutation texts, and are discussed in the context of the extant literature and KReC.

Communicating Climate Change: Reinforcing Comprehension and Personal Ties to Climate Change Through Maps

ABSTRACT Although climate change is highly prevalent in the media, people in Europe and the United States are often unsure about climate change terms, processes, and its personal consequences. In other words, climate change communication seems to be largely failing so far. Among other communication tools, maps are widely used for explanatory purposes by scientists and the media. Here two questions arise: first, whether high map complexity may be too intricate to be understood and discourage people from deciphering the map; and second, whether personal interest in climate change can be influenced by the phenomenon depicted or the map’s scale. In a survey conducted among 109 students in the USA, 63% of respondents preferred a simple map, but a substantial subset, 37%, asked for complexity to receive more information. Regional phenomena evoked more concern than far-off phenomena (concern level index difference of 0.93 on a 5-ranked Likert scale). The advantage of maps showing local areas could not be statistically confirmed.

Revising Psychology Misconceptions by Integrating a Refutation-Style Text Framework Into Poster Presentations:

Refutation-style texts have been considered a viable strategy for changing psychological misconceptions. The current study aims to integrate refutation-style texts into a classroom-based method of learning. Psychology students were administered a true/false misconception survey and then viewed several refutation-style poster presentations containing information describing a misconception as false. Posters were created with the intent to revise psychological misconceptions. After the poster presentations, participants took the same true/false posttest survey and then were asked to explain their answer choice. Participants took the posttest survey several days later to assess long-term retention. Results revealed that the refutation-style poster presentations were successful in revising knowledge for psychology misconceptions. The benefits of integrating refutation-based learning into classroom and laboratory studies are discussed.

Reducing the Impact of Stereotypical Knowledge During Reading

Four experiments were designed to assess the presence and impact of stereotypical knowledge through an implicit measure of reading comprehension. In Experiments 1 and 3, participants read passages about protagonists in scenarios in which stereotypical knowledge was likely to become activated in memory. Following the descriptions, reading times for target sentences were slowed when they were inconsistent with stereotypical knowledge. In Experiments 2 and 4, a qualification sentence that served to explain why the protagonist would behave in a stereotypically inconsistent manner was added. With this additional information, the slowdown demonstrated in Experiments 1 and 3 for stereotypically inconsistent target sentences was eliminated. Prior research has shown it is very difficult to override activated stereotypical knowledge. The present results are important because this is the first demonstration that an appropriate qualification can at least eliminate any disruption in reading caused by stereotypical knowledge.

Windowless Classrooms or a Virtual Window World Does a Creative Classroom Environment Help or Hinder Attention

This study examined the influence of virtual windows, used to simulate windows in a classroom, on attentional tasks. Forty undergraduates took the Trail Making Task (TMT) and Benton’s Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWA) in a classroom with either virtual windows displaying nature scenes, or blind-covered windows. Results on the TMT and COWA revealed that virtual windows had a positive influence on participants’ ability to complete these tasks and that participants were more efficient at the TMT in the virtual window condition compared to the no window condition. These results indicate that virtual windows were not a distraction in the classroom and had a positive effect on performance. Implications for using virtual windows in classrooms without windows are discussed.