| Abstract: | We investigated the extent to which understanders monitor shifts in time and space during film comprehension. Participants viewed a feature‐length film and identified those points in the film in which they perceived a change in situation. We performed an a priori analysis of the films to identify the shifts in time, the movement of characters, and region. The relationship between the theoretical analysis of the films and the participants judgements of situational change was assessed. The results provide support for the Event Indexing Model and suggest that situation models for filmed events are indexed along multiple dimensions of situational continuity. Furthermore, the pattern of results was similar for narrative film as they are for narrative text. This finding suggest that there are general mechanisms for event understanding that operate independently of medium or mode of experience. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
