Causal networks versus goal hierarchies in summarizing text∗

Broek, Paul van den; Trabasso, Tom

doi:10.1080/01638538609544628

Cited by 109 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The causal relations in a narrative often form complex causal chains that link events in the text. For many people, the central question about causality is how these causal chains are computed (e.g., Fletcher & Bloom, 1988;Myers & Duffy, 1990;Trabasso & van den Broek, 1985;van den Broek & Trabasso, 1986). The question of implicit causality, however, arises in the simpler case of representing a single event and may affect the interpretation of text that explicitly presents another event as its cause.…”

Section: Causality and Implicit Causalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Locus of Implicit Causality Effects in Comprehension

Garnham

Traxler

Oakhill

et al. 1996

Journal of Memory and Language

150

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Implicit causality might enable readers to focus on the imputed cause of an event and make it the default referent of a following pronoun. Alternatively, its effects might arise only when a following explicit cause is integrated with a description of the event. In three probe recognition experiments, in which the participants in the events were of the same sex, the only reliable effect -apart from the advantage of first mention -was that of whether implicit and explicit causes were the same. This effect was independent of whether the probe named the referent of the pronoun. In a fourth experiment, in which the two participants were of different sexes, there was no simple effect of implicit causality, but there was an advantage for the pronoun's referent. These results are consistent with the view that implicit causality has its effects at integration. We discuss their broader implications for theories of comprehension.There is a growing consensus that mental representations of the content of text take the form of discourse models (e.g., Garnham, 1981Garnham, , 1987Johnson-Laird & Garnham, 1980;Greene, McKoon, & Ratcliff, 1992;Stenning, 1978;Webber, 1979) and that the primary goal of a theory of text comprehension is to specify the nature of such models and of the processes that construct them. Discourse models contain representations of people, things, events (in the broad sense of that term used in semantic theory; see e.g., Frawley, 1992, in which it covers acts, actions, states, and processes), and so on, in the real, or an imaginary, world. However, beyond this basic specification, there is considerable disagreement about their nature and about the mental processes that build them. One important issue is the extent to which discourse models are elaborated using information that is not explicit in a text, but which must be derived inferentially (see e.g., , vs Garnham, 1992, and Glenberg & Mathew, 1992. Another set of issues, and one that has received less attention in the psychological literature, concerns the internal structure of discourse models. These issues, which can loosely be dubbed "issues-of focus," are crucial to online theories Address correspondence and reprint requests to Alan Garnham, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom. Tele-phone: +44 1273 678337. Fax: +44 1273 678611. alang@epunix.sussex.ac.uk. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript of text comprehension, because the internal structure of discourse models determines which parts of those models are most available in memory. It is one of these issues that we address in this paper.Some of the things mentioned in a text are in focus and, therefore, readily available for later reference, and others are not. Both local, sentence level, and global, discourse level, mechanisms may contribute to whether an item is in focus and hence can readily be referred to again (e.g., using a pronoun). However, the details of these mechanisms rema...

show abstract

Section: Causality and Implicit Causalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Locus of Implicit Causality Effects in Comprehension

Garnham

Traxler

Oakhill

et al. 1996

Journal of Memory and Language

150

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Mental Representation Of Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, after having read a text they tend to remember elements of the text with many semantic relations more often than elements that have fewer relations (Trabasso et al, 1984;Trabasso & van den Broek, 1985), emphasize strongly connected elements in their summaries of the text (van den Broek & Trabasso, 1986), and answer questions about the text by following the relations through the network (O'Brien & Myers, 1987). Likewise, they recall elements higher in a hierarchical structure more frequently than those lower in the structure McCrudden, Magliano, & Schraw, 2011;Seifert, Abelson, & McKoon, 1986;van den Broek & Trabasso, 1986). These findings concern proficient, adult readers, but struggling and younger comprehenders also have been found to be sensitive to structural centrality in their representation of a text they have read, although to a lesser extent (e.g., Kim, Kendeou, van den Broek, White, & Kremer, 2008;Lynch et al, 2008;Miller & Keenan, 2009;van den Broek et al, 2013;Wolman, van den Broek, & Lorch, 1997).…”

Section: Mental Representation Of Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a second example, the specific semantic relations may create a hierarchy between elements or clusters of elements. For instance, for narrative texts causal relations between protagonists' goals may create a hierarchy with superordinate and subordinate goals (Black & Bower, 1980;van den Broek & Trabasso, 1986); similarly, for informational texts logical relations may create a hierarchy of embedded themes and subthemes, of topics and underlying concrete examples, and so on (Meyer & Freedle, 1984). Elements higher in such hierarchies tend to be more central to the semantic structure of the text than those in lower positions, even if they have the same number of relations (e.g., Omanson, 1982;van den Broek, 1988).…”

Section: Mental Representation Of Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The framework builds on and extends the Landscape Model of reading comprehension processes and representation (Tzeng, van den Broek, Kendeou, & Lee, 2005;van den Broek, Young, Tzeng, & Linderholm, 1999;van den Broek, 2010). After providing details on the framework, we consider empirical evidence to assess the validity of the framework and to identify possible revisions and elaborations on the framework, thus setting an agenda for future research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Cognitive Processes in Discourse Comprehension: Passive Processes, Reader-Initiated Processes, and Evolving Mental Representations

Broek

Helder

2017

Discourse Processes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As readers move through a text, they engage in various types of processes that, if all goes well, result in a mental representation that captures their interpretation of the text. With each new text segment the reader engages in passive and, at times, reader-initiated processes. These processes are strongly influenced by the readers' representation of the preceding text and, in turn, update this very same representation. This updated representation forms the backdrop for the processing of the next text segment, and so on. Thus, passive and reader-initiated processes and the evolving representation engage in a continual, intricate interaction as the reader moves through the text. We provide a framework for conceptualizing the interplay between these three components of comprehension and propose that (1) passive and reader-initiated processes interact during reading; (2) a reader's standards of coherence moderate what kind and to what extent readerinitiated processes take place; (3) reader-initiated processes lie along a continuum from close-to-the-text, coherence-building processes to farfrom-the-text, interpretive processes; and (4) the moment-to-moment processes and the evolving mental representation interact in a reciprocal fashion. We present results from recent experiments on key aspects of the framework, and identify questions the framework raises. We conclude with implications from this conceptualization for theoretical models of reading comprehension.

show abstract

Improving memory in older adults by instructing them in professional actors' learning strategies

Noice

Perrig-Chiello

et al. 1999

Appl. Cognit. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examined a new type of cognitive intervention. For four weeks, participants (ages 65 to 82) were instructed in professional acting techniques, followed by rehearsal and performance of theatrical scenes. Although the training was not targeted in any way to the tasks used in pre‐ and post‐testing, participants produced significantly higher recall and recognition scores after the intervention. It is suggested that the cognitive effort involved in analyzing and adopting theatrical characters' motivations (and then experiencing those characters' mental/emotional states during performance) is responsible for the observed improvement. A secondary strand of this study showed that participants who were given annotated scripts in which the implied goals of the characters were made explicit demonstrated significantly faster access to the stored material, as measured by a computer latency task. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Causal networks versus goal hierarchies in summarizing text∗

Cited by 109 publications

References 20 publications

The Locus of Implicit Causality Effects in Comprehension

The Locus of Implicit Causality Effects in Comprehension

Cognitive Processes in Discourse Comprehension: Passive Processes, Reader-Initiated Processes, and Evolving Mental Representations

Improving memory in older adults by instructing them in professional actors' learning strategies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About