Scale structure: processing minimum standard and maximum standard scalar adjectives

Gradable adjectives denote a function that takes an object and returns a measure of the degree to which the object possesses some gradable property [Kennedy, C. (1999). Projecting the adjective: The syntax and semantics of gradability and comparison. New York: Garland]. Scales, ordered sets of degrees, have begun to be studied systematically in semantics [Kennedy, C. (to appear). Vagueness and grammar: the semantics of relative and absolute gradable predicates. Linguistics and Philosophy; Kennedy, C. and McNally, L. (2005). Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates. Language, 81, 345-381; Rotstein, C., and Winter, Y. (2004). Total adjectives vs. partial adjectives: scale structure and higher order modifiers. Natural Language Semantics, 12, 259-288.]. We report four experiments designed to investigate the processing of absolute adjectives with a maximum standard (e.g., clean) and their minimum standard antonyms (dirty). The central hypothesis is that the denotation of an absolute adjective introduces a 'standard value' on a scale as part of the normal comprehension of a sentence containing the adjective (the "Obligatory Scale" hypothesis). In line with the predictions of Kennedy and McNally (2005) and Rotstein and Winter (2004), maximum standard adjectives and minimum standard adjectives systematically differ from each other when they are combined with minimizing modifiers like slightly, as indicated by speeded acceptability judgments. An eye movement recording study shows that, as predicted by the Obligatory Scale hypothesis, the penalty due to combining slightly with a maximum standard adjective can be observed during the processing of the sentence; the penalty is not the result of some after-the-fact inferencing mechanism. Further, a type of 'quantificational variability effect' may be observed when a quantificational adverb (mostly) is combined with a minimum standard adjective in sentences like "The dishes are mostly dirty", which may receive either a degree interpretation (e.g., 80% dirty) or a quantity interpretation (e.g., 80% of the dishes are dirty). The quantificational variability results provide suggestive support for the Obligatory Scale hypothesis by showing that the standard of a scalar adjective influences the preferred interpretation of other constituents in the sentence.     

Gender, Perceptions of Incentive Value, and Cardiovascular Response to a Performance Challenge

One hundred fifteen US undergraduates primarily of African and European heritage were presented an easy or difficult memory challenge and led to believe they could secure a traditionally feminine incentive by meeting it. As expected, heart rate responses during the work period were stronger under difficult- than easy conditions among women, but low under both difficulty conditions among men. Systolic- and diastolic blood pressure responses during the period were similar except that they were relatively elevated in men under both difficulty conditions. Findings support the suggestion that gender effects in studies of cardiovascular response to performance challenge may be partially understood in terms of effort processes occurring where men and women place different value on available performance incentives.     

Event memory and misinformation effects in a gorilla (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gorilla gorilla gorilla</Emphasis>)

Event memory and misinformation effects were examined in an adult male gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The gorilla witnessed a series of unique events, involving a familiar person engaging in a novel behavior (experiment 1), a novel person engaging in a novel behavior (experiment 2), or the presentation of a novel object (experiment 3). Following a 5- to 10-min retention interval, a tester gave the gorilla three photographs mounted on wooden cards: a photograph depicting the correct person or object and two distractor photographs drawn from the same class. The gorilla responded by returning a photograph. If correct, he was reinforced with food. Across three experiments, the gorilla performed significantly above chance at recognizing the target photograph. In experiment 4, the gorilla showed at-chance performance when the event was followed by misinformation (a class-consistent, but incorrect photograph), but significantly above-chance performance when no misinformation occurred (either correct photograph or no photograph). Although the familiarity can account for these data, they are also consistent with an episodic-memory interpretation.     

Tracking the what and why of speakers’ choices: Prosodic boundaries and the length of constituents

The rational speaker hypothesis (Clifton, Carlson, & Frazier, 2002) claims that speakers are selfconsistent, employing intonation in a manner consistent with their intended message. Preceding a constituent by a prosodic boundary that is not required by the grammar often signals that this constituent is not part of the immediately preceding phrase. However, speakers tend to place prosodic boundaries before and after long constituents. The question is whether prosodic boundaries will have a larger influence on listeners’ choice of an analysis when they flank short constituents than when they flank long ones. The results of two listening experiments indicate that they do, suggesting that listeners attend not just to properties of the input signal, but also to the reasons why speakers produce those properties.     

Prosodic phrasing is central to language comprehension

Words, like musical notes, are grouped together into phrases by their rhythmic and durational properties as well as their tonal pitch. This 'prosodic phrasing' affects the understanding of sentences. Many processing studies of prosody have investigated sentences with a single, grammatically required prosodic boundary, which might be interpreted strictly locally, as a signal to end the current syntactic unit. Recent results suggest, however, that the global pattern of prosodic phrasing is what matters in sentence comprehension, not just the occurrence or size of a single local boundary. In this article we claim that the impact of prosodic boundaries depends on the other prosodic choices a speaker has made. We speculate that prosody serves to hold distinct linguistic representations together in memory.     

Relationship power and betrayal experience as predictors of reactions to infidelity

Explanations for sexual infidelity have been dominated by an evolutionary psychological theory of jealousy that finds its strongest support in research that employs a forced-choice hypothetical infidelity paradigm wherein participants imagine experiencing infidelity and choose whether sexual or emotional infidelity would be more distressing. Robust gender differences that support evolutionary psychological perspectives are consistently found using this paradigm, but recent work suggests that gender differences may be attenuated among actual infidelity victims. However, no research has used the forced-choice paradigm to compare real and hypothetical infidelity. This study uses this paradigm to compare reactions to imagined dating infidelity to those of infidelity victims. No gender differences are observed in response to the forced-choice question among victims of infidelity. Gender differences among participants who imagined infidelity are partially mediated by level of relationship power. Difficulties with the hypothetical forced-choice paradigm and implications for the evolutionary psychological theory of jealousy are discussed.     

Processing "d-linked" phrases

Linguists draw a distinction between two types of interrogatives: discourse linked (d-linked) phrases such as which man, which implies the existence of a set of contextually determined entities (men) from which the speaker is asking for a choice, and non–d-linked interrogatives such as who, which carry no such implication. Two questionnaires and an on-line reading study showed that readers prefer a d-linked phrase more than a non–d-linked phrase as the antecedent for a pronoun, suggesting that d-linked phrases are immediately instantiated in a discourse representation that is checked during the process of pronoun interpretation. Comparable difficulty is not observed for non–d-linked interrogatives. A questionnaire and an on-line listening study also showed that readers and listeners were more willing to accept a grammatical island violation containing a pronoun when the pronoun's antecendent was a d-linked interrogative than when the antecedent was non–d-linked, suggesting that they check a discourse representation for the pronoun antecedent. All results suggest that d-linked phrases are immediately interpreted in a discourse representation, not just in a syntactic representation.     

Randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a web-based stress management program among community college students

Background and Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a web-based stress management program among community college students that focused on increasing perceived control over stressful events. Design: Students (N = 257) were randomly assigned to a Present Control Intervention or a Stress-information only comparison group. Methods: Primary outcomes were perceived stress and stress symptoms; secondary outcomes were depression and anxiety. Self-report measures were completed online at preintervention, postintervention, and three-week follow-up. Intervention effects were estimated using linear mixed models. Seventy-five percent of the sample (n = 194) completed the pretest and comprised the intent-to-treat sample. Results: Participants in the intervention group reported significant increases in present control, and significant decreases in all four primary and secondary outcome measures from baseline to postintervention and follow-up. Within-group effect sizes were small to medium at postintervention (mean d = –.34) and follow-up (mean d = –.49). The mean between-group effect size on the four outcome measures was d = .35 at postintervention but d = .12 at follow-up, due to unexpected decreases in distress in the comparison group. Conclusions: Our online program is a cost-effective mental health program for college students. Limitations and future direction are discussed.     

Prospective risk factors for subsequent exposure to potentially traumatic events

Abstract

In a sample of 1528 college students, we examined (1) whether several risk factors prospectively predicted exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) over a 2-month period and (2) whether dependent events (i.e., those more likely to depend upon one's behavior or characteristics) and independent events were predicted by different risk factors. Logistic regression analyses indicated that overall subsequent PTE exposure was higher for women, those with more previous PTEs, and those who engaged in more binge drinking. Female gender and previous PTE exposure also predicted exposure to independent events. Subsequent dependent PTE exposure was predicted by more previous PTEs and binge drinking, and was somewhat higher in ethnic minority students. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.