INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN SYNTACTIC PROCESSING - THE ROLE OF WORKING MEMORY

The results of two experiments indicate that individual differences in syntactic processing are governed in part by the amount of working memory capacity available for language comprehension processes. Reading the verbs of an object relative sentence, such as The reporter that the senator attacked admitted the error, takes more time for readers with less working memory capacity for language, and their resulting comprehension is less accurate. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of a concurrent working memory load and found that with no load or a small memory load many Low Span readers comprehended object relative sentences very poorly although their reading times in the critical area of these sentences were greater than those of High Span subjects. Experiment 2 replicated the reading time effects of Experiment 1 for object relative sentences and showed that pragmatic information improved the comprehension of the lower capacity readers, although their use of this information was limited to the clause in which it was presented. © 1991.