语篇情绪理解及其认知神经机制

在心理语言学领域,情绪信息加工是语篇理解的重要方面,得到了广泛关注。目前的研究表明,读者在语篇阅读中可以在线地、自动地推测出语篇情绪信息,追踪情绪信息的变化,并对其进行更新。语篇理解相关的模型及一些事件相关电位(ERP)的实证研究表明语篇情绪理解至少包括两个重要的加工过程:一是对语篇情绪信息的实时监控,二是对当前情绪信息的评估与更新。相关的功能磁共振(f MRI)的研究表明语篇情绪理解除了需要经典的情绪加工网络,还需要多个脑区网络的参与,如,语篇理解网络、心理理论(To M)网络。未来研究还需更加深入地、更加细致地探讨语篇情绪理解的认知神经机制及其可能的影响因素,研究成果也可以为情感计算领域提供一定的借鉴。     

年老化与文本理解

年老化与文本理解的研究表明,老年人在表层形式和文本基础两个低水平表征上的理解和记忆能力下降,而在情境模型的建构和提取、更新等加工过程中都没有发现由于年老化引起的能力下降。在介绍这些研究的基础上,从情境模型与另两个低水平加工的不同特点和老年人自身的特殊性两个方面分析了老年人在不同层次表征水平加工能力差异的原因。对情境模型水平加工能力保持的潜在机制及相关的影响因素,以及如何弥补在低水平加工中认知能力因年龄而产生的下降等问题还需要进行探讨     

语篇理解中语义整合的神经机制及其影响因素

语义整合是把当前阅读中新出现的词语与之前的语境进行语义联结以形成连贯表征的过程。在语篇理解中, 很多理论都确定了整合这一过程的重要性, 语义整合是达成语篇连贯的一个关键步骤, 探究其神经机制及影响因素对理解语篇有重要意义。已有的ERP研究表明语篇理解中的语义整合是即时发生的; 已有的fMRI研究和神经震荡的分析提供了参与这一过程的具体脑区和神经网络的证据。其影响因素主要包括语篇内因素、非言语因素和个体差异。     

语言能力的老化机制：语言特异性与非特异性因素的共同作用

语言能力的衰退是由于一般认知能力衰退引起的, 还是由于语言加工系统的衰退引起的, 抑或是两者的共同作用?研究中测量了青年组和老年组的一般认知能力(加工速度、工作记忆和抑制能力), 以及在词汇、句子和语篇三个水平上的语言理解能力和语言产生能力。结果发现, 一般认知能力、语言理解和语言产生能力都存在年老化现象。分层回归分析表明, 一般认知能力对语言能力的贡献, 以及语言理解能力和产生能力之间的相互贡献在青年组和老年组中是不同的, 且存在词汇、句子和语篇水平上的差异。在词汇水平上, 青年人的成绩能够被一般认知能力和另一种语言能力所显著预测, 而老年人的成绩却不受一般认知因素影响; 在句子水平上, 青年人的成绩仍能被一般认知能力或另一种语言能力所解释, 但这两类变量都无法预测老年人的任务成绩; 在语篇水平上, 青年人理解任务的成绩显著地受到产生能力影响, 而老年人的理解和产生任务成绩则分别可以被一般认知能力和语言理解能力所解释。对组间差异的回归分析表明, 一般认知能力和另一种语言能力对组间差异都有显著贡献, 且前者的贡献大于后者。上述研究结果表明, 语言能力的老化是语言特异性因素和非特异性因素共同作用的结果。     

输入方式对学语前聋生语篇理解的影响：文本和测题类型的调节效应

为了考察信息输入方式、文本类型和测题类型对聋生语篇理解的影响,研究通过录像呈现,以口语、手语、书面语三种输入方式向学语前极重度七、八、九年级聋生呈现叙述性和描述性两种文本类型的语篇信息,并要求其完成理解测试。结果显示：输入方式对聋生语篇理解的效率存在影响,书面语成绩最高且速度最快,依次为手语、口语,文本类型和测题类型对该影响有调节作用。结果表明输入方式是聋生语篇理解的主要影响因素,文本和测题类型是调节因素。     

二语句法加工的认知机制、影响因素及其神经基础

二语(L2)和母语(L1)在句法加工方面的差异是量的不同还是质的表现？当前, 该问题已成为语言认知领域研究的热点。研究表明, 二语句法加工受到二语习得年龄、语言熟练度、工作记忆、二语习得方式等因素的影响。有关二语句法加工的理论主要有浅层结构假说、D/P模型和统一竞争模型。未来研究应注重探讨二语句法加工中二语熟练度及二语习得年龄的交互效应, 同时也应当加强儿童二语句法加工能力的研究。     

语篇理解理论研究概述

本文回顾了最近三十年来在国际上产生过较大影响的语篇理解理论。其中,建构整合模型率先尝试用一个计算模型来解释语篇理解过程;稍后的记忆基础加工观和解释基础加工观则分别从自下而上和自上而下的视角来探讨语篇理解过程;事件标记模型关注情境模型的更新,粒度假设则描述了理解后形成的概念表征精细度。风景模型试图综合以往研究结果以提出更全面的理论。本文对以上理论进行了介绍和分析,并对将来的发展方向做一展望。     

左右半球在语篇理解中的协同作用

通过2例一侧颞叶损伤患者研究了一侧颞叶损伤及两侧半球的协同作用对语篇理解的影响,并探讨了发生此种影响的可能机制。结果表明一侧颞叶的损伤将导致患者语篇水平的理解障碍及语言推理能力的下降;提示语篇理解需双侧半球的协同作用,而推理能力下降可能是引发语篇理解障碍的原因之一。     

情境模型与语篇理解研究

70年代以来,随着认知科学的发展,尤其是受知识表征研究的影响,人们逐渐把语篇理解看作一个心理表征的建构过程。然而,直到80年代早期,许多认知心理学家仅把语篇理解看作语篇自身的一个心理表征的建构和提取,而不是语篇描述的情境的建构和提取。van Dijk和Kintsch最先提出了情境模型(situation model)这一概念,并区分了语篇表征的三个层次：表层编码(surface code)、课文基础表征(textbase)和情境模型。表层编码表征的是语篇中的字、词、短语以及它们之间的语言学的关系;课文基础表征则包含文章准确意义的一系列命题,是对文章所提供的语义及等级层次关系所形成的表征;而情境模型则是在课文基础表征和读者的背景知识相互作用下经推理而形成的内容或心理上的微观世界。     

阅读理解测试的信度研究:来自概化分析的视角

阅读理解测试通常为多个题目共用一个语篇材料,属于典型的题组题型,传统的基于单题的信度估计方法将会高估测试的信度。研究采用概化理论模型,通过比较传统信度系数以及不同的概化理论测量设计模型,探讨不同方法对阅读理解测量精度估计的差别;同时,通过改变语篇和题目的数量来观察概化系数和可靠性指数等指标的变化,为改进考试设计和命题提供参考信息。结果表明,忽略语篇的单变量概化设计以及基于题目的 系数会在概化系数上高估0.0404,将语篇作为多变量的交叉设计会在概化系数上高估0.0480,基于语篇的系数与单变量嵌套设计的概化系数一致。另外,增加阅读理解中的语篇量或题目量都可以提高测量的精度,但增加语篇量在提高阅读理解测试的测量精度上更为高效。     

Age differences in resolving anaphoric expressions during reading

One crucial component of reading comprehension is the ability to bind current information to earlier text, which is often accomplished via anaphoric expressions (e.g., pronouns referring to previous nouns). Processing time for anaphors that violate expectations (e.g., 'The firefighter burned herself while rescuing victims from the building') provide a window into how the semantic representation of the referent is instantiated and retained up to the anaphor. We present data from three eye-tracking experiments examining older and younger adults' reading patterns for passages containing such local expectancy violations. Younger adults quickly registered and resolved the expectancy violation at the point at which it first occurred (as measured by increased gaze duration on the anaphor), regardless of whether sentences were read in isolation or embedded in a discourse context. Older adults, however, immediately noticed the violation only when sentences were embedded in discourse context, suggesting that they relied more on situational grounding to instantiate the referent. For neither young nor old did prior disambiguation within the context (e.g., stating the firefighter was a woman) reduce the effect of the local violation on early processing. For older readers, however, prior disambiguation facilitated anaphor resolution by reducing reprocessing. These results suggest that (a) anaphor resolution unfolds serially, such that prior disambiguating context does not 'inoculate' against local activation of salient (but contextually inappropriate) features, and that (b) older readers use the situational grounding of discourse context to support earlier access to the antecedent, and are more likely to reprocess the context for anaphor resolution.     

Logical relations and comprehension in conversation

This study examines how logical relations (e.g., causality and identity) in spoken discourse affect comprehension. Research on cohesion, which shows that specific unit template structures link discourse and text together, is used to build a model of language comprehension that places template structures at the base of a context comparison operation. Subjects were engaged in ordinary conversation with a confederate trained to produce specific types of logical utterances unobtrusively. The comprehension model predicted that systematically different latencies, topical response, and remedial response of subjects would follow the test items produced by the confederate. The data support the predictions. It is shown that comprehension occurs via one processing path if there is a direct tie between the target item and the immediately prior item in discourse, and a separate processing path if the tie is between the target item and the earlier context. Subject response in conversation is shown to display useful evidence on the nature of comprehension achieved. The findings specify and extend the recent research on the integration of new information into a textual structure.     

The extended argument dependency model: a neurocognitive approach to sentence comprehension across languages

Real-time language comprehension is a principal cognitive ability and thereby relates to central properties of the human cognitive architecture. Yet how do the presumably universal cognitive and neural substrates of language processing relate to the astounding diversity of human languages (over 5,000)? The authors present a neurocognitive model of online comprehension, the extended argument dependency model (eADM), that accounts for cross-linguistic unity and diversity in the processing of core constituents (verbs and arguments). The eADM postulates that core constituent processing proceeds in three hierarchically organized phases: (1) constituent structure building without relational interpretation, (2) argument role assignment via a restricted set of cross-linguistically motivated information types (e.g., case, animacy), and (3) completion of argument interpretation using information from further domains (e.g., discourse context, plausibility). This basic architecture is assumed to be universal, with cross-linguistic variation deriving primarily from the information types applied in Phase 2 of comprehension. This conception can derive the appearance of similar neurophysiological and neuroanatomical processing correlates in seemingly disparate structures in different languages and, conversely, of cross-linguistic differences in the processing of similar sentence structures.     

Grammatical Morphemes and Conceptual Structure in Discourse Processing

The present paper analyzes how the semantic and pragmatic functions of closed class categories, or grammatical morphemes (i.e., inflections and function words), organize discourse processing. Grammatical morphemes tend to express a small set of conceptual distinctions that organize a wide range of objects and relations, usually expressed by content or open class words (i.e., nouns and verbs), into situations anchored to a discourse context. Therefore, grammatical morphemes and content words cooperate in guiding the construction of a situation model during discourse comprehension by specifying complementary aspects of described situations. The paper reviews and extends analytical and empirical evidence for this grammatical-conceptual correspondence, and suggests that the correspondence developed in response to the cognitive demands of discourse processing. Thus the distinction between open and closed linguistic categories is interpreted in terms of a fundamental correspondence between conceptual and linguistic structure that helps organize discourse processing.     

Aging and the use of context in ambiguity resolution: complex changes from simple slowing

Older and younger adults' abilities to use context information rapidly during ambiguity resolution were investigated. In Experiments 1 and 2, younger and older adults heard ambiguous words (e.g., fires) in sentences where the preceding context supported either the less frequent or more frequent meaning of the word. Both age groups showed good context use in offline tasks, but only young adults demonstrated rapid use of context in cross-modal naming. A 3rd experiment demonstrated that younger and older adults had similar knowledge about the contexts used in Experiments 1 and 2. The experiment results were simulated in 2 computational models in which different patterns of context use were shown to emerge from varying a single speed parameter. These results suggest that age-related changes in processing efficiency can modulate context use during language comprehension.     

No aging bias favoring memory for positive material: evidence from a heterogeneity-homogeneity list paradigm using emotionally toned words

Some authors argue for a memory advantage of older adults for positively toned material. To investigate the contribution of selective processing to a positivity effect, the authors investigated young (n = 72, aged 18 to 31) and older (n = 72, aged 64 to 75) adults' memory for emotionally toned words using a multitrial paradigm that compares performance for heterogeneous (mixed valence) and homogeneous (single valence) lists. Regarding the age comparison, there was no evidence for an aging bias favoring positive material. Moreover, older adults' memory was less affected by emotion-based processing prioritization. Although there was no support for age-specific processing biases in memory for emotionally toned words, the findings are consistent with proposals that negative information receives processing priority in some contexts. Possible limits to the generalizability of the present findings (e.g., to nonverbal material) are discussed.     

Age differences in resolving anaphoric expressions during reading

ABSTRACT

One crucial component of reading comprehension is the ability to bind current information to earlier text, which is often accomplished via anaphoric expressions (e.g., pronouns referring to previous nouns). Processing time for anaphors that violate expectations (e.g., ‘The firefighter burned herself while rescuing victims from the building’) provide a window into how the semantic representation of the referent is instantiated and retained up to the anaphor. We present data from three eye-tracking experiments examining older and younger adults' reading patterns for passages containing such local expectancy violations. Younger adults quickly registered and resolved the expectancy violation at the point at which it first occurred (as measured by increased gaze duration on the anaphor), regardless of whether sentences were read in isolation or embedded in a discourse context. Older adults, however, immediately noticed the violation only when sentences were embedded in discourse context, suggesting that they relied more on situational grounding to instantiate the referent. For neither young nor old did prior disambiguation within the context (e.g., stating the firefighter was a woman) reduce the effect of the local violation on early processing. For older readers, however, prior disambiguation facilitated anaphor resolution by reducing reprocessing. These results suggest that (a) anaphor resolution unfolds serially, such that prior disambiguating context does not ‘inoculate’ against local activation of salient (but contextually inappropriate) features, and that (b) older readers use the situational grounding of discourse context to support earlier access to the antecedent, and are more likely to reprocess the context for anaphor resolution.     

Aging, source memory, and emotion

In 2 experiments we assessed younger and older adults' ability to remember contextual information about an event. Each experiment examined memory for 3 different types of contextual information: (a) perceptual information (e.g., location of an item); (b) conceptual, nonemotional information (e.g., quality of an item); and (c) conceptual, emotional information (e.g., safety of an item). Consistent with a large literature on aging and source memory, younger adults outperformed older adults when the contextual information was perceptual in nature and when it was conceptual, but not emotional. Age differences in source memory were eliminated, however, when participants recalled emotional source information. These findings suggest that emotional information differentially engages older adults, possibly evoking enhanced elaborations and associations. The data are also consistent with a growing literature, suggesting that emotional processing remains stable with age (e.g., Carstensen & Turk-Charles, 1994, 1998; Isaacowitz, Charles, & Carstensen, 2000).     

If the real world were irrelevant, so to speak: The role of propositional truth-value in counterfactual sentence comprehension

Propositional truth-value can be a defining feature of a sentence's relevance to the unfolding discourse, and establishing propositional truth-value in context can be key to successful interpretation. In the current study, we investigate its role in the comprehension of counterfactual conditionals, which describe imaginary consequences of hypothetical events, and are thought to require keeping in mind both what is true and what is false. Pre-stored real-world knowledge may therefore intrude upon and delay counterfactual comprehension, which is predicted by some accounts of discourse comprehension, and has been observed during online comprehension. The impact of propositional truth-value may thus be delayed in counterfactual conditionals, as also claimed for sentences containing other types of logical operators (e.g., negation, scalar quantifiers). In an event-related potential (ERP) experiment, we investigated the impact of propositional truth-value when described consequences are both true and predictable given the counterfactual premise. False words elicited larger N400 ERPs than true words, in negated counterfactual sentences (e.g., "If N.A.S.A. had not developed its Apollo Project, the first country to land on the moon would have been Russia/America") and real-world sentences (e.g., "Because N.A.S.A. developed its Apollo Project, the first country to land on the moon was America/Russia") alike. These indistinguishable N400 effects of propositional truth-value, elicited by opposite word pairs, argue against disruptions by real-world knowledge during counterfactual comprehension, and suggest that incoming words are mapped onto the counterfactual context without any delay. Thus, provided a sufficiently constraining context, propositional truth-value rapidly impacts ongoing semantic processing, be the proposition factual or counterfactual.     

Health-engagement control strategies and 2-year changes in older adults' physical health

This study examined the associations between older adults' daily physical symptoms (e.g., chest pain or difficulty breathing) and 2-year changes in chronic health problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease or cancer) and in functional problems (e.g., difficulty dressing or moving around at home). We reasoned that these associations depend on a person's active control processes aimed at counteracting physical health problems (i.e., health-engagement control strategies, or HECS). In particular, we hypothesized that high levels of HECS buffer the adverse effect of daily physical symptoms on increases in chronic and functional health problems. We found that daily physical symptoms were associated with declines in chronic and functional health among older adults who were not engaged in addressing their health problems, but not among their counterparts who reported high levels of HECS. These findings suggest that active control strategies play an important role in the maintenance of older adults' physical health.