TY - JOUR
T1 - Executive function and intelligence in the resolution of temporary syntactic ambiguity
T2 - an individual differences investigation
AU - Engelhardt, Paul E.
AU - Nigg, Joel T.
AU - Ferreira, Fernanda
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health [grant number R01-MH63146] awarded to Joel T. Nigg and Fernanda Ferreira.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Experimental Psychology Society.
PY - 2017/7/3
Y1 - 2017/7/3
N2 - In the current study, we examined the role of intelligence and executive functions in the resolution of temporary syntactic ambiguity using an individual differences approach. Data were collected from 174 adolescents and adults who completed a battery of cognitive tests as well as a sentence comprehension task. The critical items for the comprehension task consisted of object/subject garden paths (e.g., While Anna dressed the baby that was small and cute played in the crib), and participants answered a comprehension question (e.g., Did Anna dress the baby?) following each one. Previous studies have shown that garden-path misinterpretations tend to persist into final interpretations. Results showed that both intelligence and processing speed interacted with ambiguity. Individuals with higher intelligence and faster processing were more likely to answer the comprehension questions correctly and, specifically, following ambiguous as opposed to unambiguous sentences. Inhibition produced a marginal effect, but the variance in inhibition was largely shared with intelligence. Conclusions focus on the role of individual differences in cognitive ability and their impact on syntactic ambiguity resolution.
AB - In the current study, we examined the role of intelligence and executive functions in the resolution of temporary syntactic ambiguity using an individual differences approach. Data were collected from 174 adolescents and adults who completed a battery of cognitive tests as well as a sentence comprehension task. The critical items for the comprehension task consisted of object/subject garden paths (e.g., While Anna dressed the baby that was small and cute played in the crib), and participants answered a comprehension question (e.g., Did Anna dress the baby?) following each one. Previous studies have shown that garden-path misinterpretations tend to persist into final interpretations. Results showed that both intelligence and processing speed interacted with ambiguity. Individuals with higher intelligence and faster processing were more likely to answer the comprehension questions correctly and, specifically, following ambiguous as opposed to unambiguous sentences. Inhibition produced a marginal effect, but the variance in inhibition was largely shared with intelligence. Conclusions focus on the role of individual differences in cognitive ability and their impact on syntactic ambiguity resolution.
KW - Executive function
KW - Garden-path sentence
KW - Individual differences
KW - Intelligence
KW - Syntactic ambiguity resolution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84965081007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84965081007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17470218.2016.1178785
DO - 10.1080/17470218.2016.1178785
M3 - Article
C2 - 27150661
AN - SCOPUS:84965081007
VL - 70
SP - 1263
EP - 1281
JO - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
JF - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
SN - 1747-0218
IS - 7
ER -