Semantic and Syntactic Predictions in Reading Aloud: Are Good Predictors Good Statistical Learners?

Recent research suggests that becoming a fluent reader may partially rely on a domain-general statistical learning (SL) mechanism that allows a person to automatically extract predictable patterns from the sensory input. The goal of the present study was to investigate a potential link between SL and the ability to make linguistic predictions. All previous studies investigated quite general levels of reading ability rather than the dynamic process of making linguistic predictions. We thus used a recently developed predictive reading task, which consisted of having participants read aloud words that were preceded by either semantically or syntactically predictive contexts. To measure the componential nature of SL, we used a visual and an auditory SL task (VSL, ASL) and the classic serial reaction time task (SRT). General reading ability was assessed with a reading speed/comprehension test. The study was conducted online on a sample of 120 participants to make it possible to explore interindividual differences. The results showed only weak and sometimes even negative correlations between the various SL measures. ASL correlated positively and predicted general reading ability but neither semantic nor syntactic prediction effects. Similarly, one of the SRT measures was significantly associated with reading level and reading speed but not with linguistic prediction effects. In sum, there is little evidence that domain-general SL is a good predictor of people's ability to make domain-specific linguistic predictions. In contrast, SL shows a weak but significant association with general reading ability.

The Effects of Semantic and Syntactic Prediction on Reading Aloud.

Semantic and syntactic prediction effects were investigated in a word naming task using semantic or syntactic contexts that varied between three and six words. Participants were asked to read the contexts silently and name a target word, which was indicated by a color change. Semantic contexts were composed of lists of semantically associated words without any syntactic information. Syntactic contexts were composed of semantically neutral sentences, in which the grammatical category but not the lexical identity of the final word was highly predictable. When the presentation time of the context words was long (1,200 ms), both semantically and syntactically related contexts facilitated reading aloud latencies of target words and syntactically related contexts produced larger priming effects than semantically related contexts in two out of three analyses. When the presentation time was short (200 ms), however, syntactic context effects disappeared, while semantic context effects remained significant. Across the three experiments, longer contexts produced faster response latencies, but longer contexts did not produce larger priming effects. The results are discussed in the context of the extant literature on semantic and syntactic priming and more recent evidence, suggesting that syntactic information constrains single word recognition.

Verbatim and gist memory in aging.

The ability to remember episodic details of prior events declines with normal aging. The present study aimed to determine whether these declines are restricted to verbatim traces of items per se or extend to gist traces of their meaning. Younger (n = 63) and older adults (n = 46) studied a list including related (strong gist activation) and unrelated words (weak gist activation) and performed a recognition test consisting of targets, related distractors, and unrelated distractors. Gist memory increased from the strong relative to the weak gist condition in both age groups. Whereas both younger and older adults could retrieve gist traces of the targeted words, older adults were impaired in their ability to retrieve their verbatim traces, resulting in increased false recognition of the related distractors. These findings suggest an age-related decrease in the ability to retrieve verbatim details of the past episodes accompanied by an increase in reliance on gist memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).