Situation-Based Context and the Availability of Predictive Inferences

Strategic influence on the time course of predictive inferences in reading

“…There are, nevertheless, some studies in which predictive inferences have been detected when the probe word appears 250 (Cook et al, 2001;Keefe & McDaniel, 1993;McDaniel et al, 2001) to 500 (Cook et al, 2001;Murray et al, 1993;Peracchi & O'Brien, 2004) msec after the end of the context under nonorienting conditions. This might lead us to think that, even with no strategic reading, predictive inferences can be drawn much earlier than 1 sec following the inducing context.…”

“…This is a necessary process for constructing a situation model of what the text describes (Zwaan & Radvansky, 1998). Predictive inferences are one type of knowledgebased inference that has received considerable attention (see, e.g., Calvo, Castillo, & Estevez, 1999;Cook, Limber, & O'Brien, 2001;Fincher-Kiefer, 1996;Keefe & McDaniel, 1993;McKoon & Ratcliff, 1986;Peracchi & O'Brien, 2004;Schmalhofer, McDaniel, & Keefe, 2002;Weingartner, Guzmán, Levine, & Klin, 2003). These inferences represent the likely outcome(s) of a described situation or event, such as anticipating that the vase broke when reading the sentence The delicate porcelain vase was thrown against the wall (see, e.g., Potts, Keenan, & Golding, 1988).…”

“…Furthermore, these inferences would not be automatic; rather, they involve postlexical elaborative processes and take time to be constructed. Prior research has found evidence of online predictive inferences during reading, when the conditions of context constraints and readiness in the availability of knowledge have been met (Calvo, 2000;Calvo & Castillo, 1998;Cook et al, 2001;Fincher-Kiefer, 1995, 1996Keefe & McDaniel, 1993;Klin, Murray, Levine, & Guzmán, 1999;Murray, Klin, & Myers, 1993;Weingartner et al, 2003;Whitney, Ritchie, & Crane, 1992). This is demonstrated by facilitation in the processing (e.g., naming, reading, lexical decision times) of a probe or target word that represents the inference concept following the inducing context, relative to a control context.…”

“…Therefore, in other studies, self-paced reading and the presentation of one sentence or one line at a time have been used. After a short, blank interstimulus interval (ISI; 250-1,500 msec), the inference probe word appears (Campion & Rossi, 2001;Cook et al, 2001;Keefe & McDaniel, 1993;Klin, Murray, et al, 1999;McDaniel, Schmalhofer, & Keefe, 2001;Peracchi & O'Brien, 2004;Weingartner et al, 2003;Whitney et al, 1992). The fact that inferences were detected after such short intervals suggests that they can occur with only a minimal delay.…”

Specificity of Emotion Inferences as a Function of Emotional Contextual Support

“…These inferences, which trigger information about future events or outcomes in the text, are not truly necessary for comprehension, and are consequently only activated in limited situations. In fact, readers only engage in the activation of predictive inferences if strong contextual support is provided in the text, combined with an inference-evoking sentence (e.g., Casteel, 2007;Cook, Limber, & O'Brien, 2001;McKoon & Ratcliff, 1986). As the contextual support increases, predictive inferences become more specific, and readers activate fewer lexical candidates that mirror the intended predictive inference (e.g., Lassonde & O'Brien, 2009).…”