Question 1

The difficulty of reading passages has been found to depend on:
A) the distance of an antecedent to an anaphor
B) whether a passage has both local and global structure
C) whether the passage contains given or new information
D) whether the sentence contains anaphoric or cataphoric reference

Accepted Answer

The distance of an antecedent to an anaphor affects reading difficulty because it requires the reader to maintain information in memory over longer spans, making comprehension more challenging.

Question 2

Which of the following are strategies for establishing coherence?
A) given/new, direct matching, and reinstating old information
B) substitution, ellipsis, and conjunctive
C) reiteration, synonomy, and hyponymy
D) pronominal, demonstrative, and comparative

Accepted Answer

Given/new, direct matching, and reinstating old information are all strategies for establishing coherence in a text. These strategies help to connect ideas and ensure that the reader can follow the progression of the text. Substitution, ellipsis, and conjunctive are strategies for maintaining coherence within a sentence, but do not necessarily contribute to the overall coherence of a text. Reiteration, synonymy, and hyponymy are types of lexical cohesion that can contribute to coherence, but are not comprehensive strategies for establishing coherence in a text. Pronominal, demonstrative, and comparative are all types of reference, which can help to establish coherence, but are not comprehensive strategies.

Question 3

The type of cohesion in which we use an expression to refer back to something previously mentioned in discourse is called ____ reference.
A) lexical
B) cataphoric
C) assimilative
D) anaphoric

Accepted Answer

Anaphoric reference refers back to something previously mentioned in discourse, using an expression that replaces or refers to it. Lexical reference refers to a specific word in the previous text, while cataphoric reference refers to something mentioned later in the text. Assimilative reference does not refer to any previously mentioned discourse, rather it uses shared cultural knowledge.

Question 4

Memory for _______ shows the least forgetting over time.
A) surface text
B) verbatim representation
C) situations
D) propositions

Accepted Answer

Memory for situations shows the least forgetting over time because it involves the general gist or meaning of an experience, which is more easily retained compared to specific words or surface details.

Question 5

A structure in semantic memory that specifies the general or expected arrangement of a body of information is called a:
A) discourse model
B) situational model
C) parsing mechanism
D) schema

Accepted Answer

Schemas are mental frameworks we use to organize and make sense of incoming information. They help us to quickly process and categorize information based on our past experiences, expectations, and assumptions. A discourse model refers to the organization of information in a specific language, a situational model refers to mental representations of specific situations, and a parsing mechanism refers to the ability to break down and analyze language syntax.

Question 6

The strategy likely to be used to comprehend the sentences Last Christmas Eugene went to a lot of parties. This Christmas he got very drunk again is:
A) anaphoric reference
B) reinstatement
C) bridging
D) none of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of The strategy likely to be used to...

Question 7

Perrig and Kintsch (1985) found that when a text used sentences such as North of the highway just east of the river is a gas station, subjects were more likely to store the text in the form of:
A) a surface representation
B) a propositional representation
C) a situational model
D) a motion sentence

Accepted Answer

Perrig and Kintsch (1985) found that complex spatial descriptions in texts led subjects to store information in the form of a situational model, which is a mental representation of the described situation, including spatial relationships.

Question 8

The sentences The woman lost track of her little boy at the mall. She became very worried illustrate what type of cohesion?
A) substitution
B) lexical
C) ellipsis
D) reference

Accepted Answer

The sentences demonstrate reference cohesion because "her little boy" in the second sentence refers to the same child mentioned in the first sentence.

Question 9

By replacing (rather than repeating) a lexical item in a sentence, we are using the form of cohesion known as:
A) ellipsis
B) anaphor
C) lexical
D) antecedent

Accepted Answer

Ellipsis is the omission of a word or phrase that is understood from the context. In the given sentence, the lexical item "rather than" is used to replace the word "instead of", which is understood from the context.

Question 10

Inferences that are drawn during discourse comprehension:
A) reflect the imaginative contribution of skilled readers
B) are the result of recall errors
C) are necessary for processing discourse effectively
D) are rarely drawn when reading printed material

Accepted Answer

Inferences are necessary for processing discourse effectively because they allow readers to connect and interpret information that is not explicitly stated in the text.

Question 11

_______ connects individual sentences and ideas in a discourse.
A) Ellipsis
B) Reference
C) Macrostructure
D) Microstructure

Accepted Answer

Macrostructure connects individual sentences and ideas in a discourse by providing an overarching framework or structure that organizes the content and themes.

Question 12

The local structure of a text refers to:
A) the inferences readers draw during discourse comprehension
B) the relationships between individual sentences in a discourse
C) the distinction between given and new information
D) the process of referring back to previous material in discourse

Accepted Answer

The local structure of a text refers to how individual sentences in a discourse relate to each other. This includes factors such as coherence and cohesion.

Question 13

The three representations of discourse are:
A) direct, demonstrative, and comparative
B) local, global, and situational
C) reference, lexical, and conjunction
D) propositional, surface, and situational

Accepted Answer

The three representations of discourse are propositional, surface, and situational. Propositional representation focuses on the meaning and content of the discourse, while surface representation deals with the actual words and structure of the discourse. Situational representation takes into account the context in which the discourse is produced and how that context affects its meaning.

Question 14

Which of the following was NOT a focus of the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) study?
A) examining tradeoffs between storage and processing functions of working memory
B) examining individual differences in the size of working memory
C) measuring the relationship between the size of working memory and SAT scores
D) measuring speed/accuracy tradeoffs in reading complex text passages

Accepted Answer

Daneman and Carpenter (1980) focused on the relationship between working memory capacity and reading comprehension, including individual differences and tradeoffs between storage and processing, but not specifically on speed/accuracy tradeoffs in reading complex text passages.

Question 15

The level of discourse that specifies the meaning of a passage apart from the exact words used is the:
A) surface representation
B) verbatim representation
C) propositional representation
D) situational model

Accepted Answer

propositional representation refers to understanding the meaning of a passage beyond the literal words used. It involves parsing the message into a set of propositions, which represent the ideas being conveyed. The other options (surface representation, verbatim representation, and situational model) refer to different aspects of language processing and comprehension.

Question 16

McKoon and Ratliff's (1980) study of spreading activation showed that the greatest degree of priming was between propositions:
A) close in the discourse structure
B) close in the surface structure
C) similar in verbatim representation
D) concurrently represented in a situational model

Accepted Answer

McKoon and Ratliff's study found that the greatest degree of priming occurred between propositions that were close in the discourse structure, indicating that semantic relationships between propositions in a text played a significant role in priming effects. The priming effect was weaker for propositions that were similar in verbatim representation, suggesting that surface-level features of text were less important in spreading activation. The study did not specifically address concurrent representation in a situational model, so option D cannot be chosen.

Question 17

The distinction between direct matching and bridging is that in bridging:
A) the reference is to something that occurred several sentences back
B) the reference is to material that must be inferred
C) the reference is by synonym instead of by exact repetition
D) the reference has been ellipted

Accepted Answer

Bridging requires the reader to make inferences to connect the new information with what has been previously mentioned or understood, rather than directly matching words or phrases.

Question 18

Jarvella (1971) presented individuals with a long oral passage, interrupted it at irregular intervals, and had them write down as much of the preceding discourse as they could, verbatim. The results showed that the percentage of correct recall of a clause was greater if:
A) it was part of the current sentence as opposed to the preceding sentence
B) they were allowed to try to complete the sentence orally
C) it was pragmatically significant
D) it could be imagined visually

Accepted Answer

The study found that recall was better for clauses that were part of the current sentence, indicating that memory for language is organized around sentence boundaries.

Question 19

.Kintsch and Keenan (1973) found that sentences with more propositions _____ than those with fewer propositions.
A) are harder to recall
B) are easier to recall
C) take longer to read
D) take less time to read

Accepted Answer

The answer of .Kintsch and Keenan (1973) found that sentences...

Question 20

Daneman and Carpenter (1980) found that students with better performance on the reading span task:
A) had more trouble comprehending anaphoric pronouns
B) had better verbal SAT scores
C) were better at a simple span task
D) were slower readers

Accepted Answer

The passage states that Daneman and Carpenter found that students with better performance on the reading span task had better verbal SAT scores. Therefore, option B is the correct answer. The other options are not mentioned in the passage.

Quiz 7: Discourse Comprehension and Memory

The difficulty of reading passages has been found to depend on:

Which of the following are strategies for establishing coherence?

The type of cohesion in which we use an expression to refer back to something previously mentioned in discourse is called ____ reference.

Memory for _______ shows the least forgetting over time.

A structure in semantic memory that specifies the general or expected arrangement of a body of information is called a:

The strategy likely to be used to comprehend the sentences Last Christmas Eugene went to a lot of parties. This Christmas he got very drunk again is:

Perrig and Kintsch (1985) found that when a text used sentences such as North of the highway just east of the river is a gas station, subjects were more likely to store the text in the form of:

The sentences The woman lost track of her little boy at the mall. She became very worried illustrate what type of cohesion?

By replacing (rather than repeating) a lexical item in a sentence, we are using the form of cohesion known as:

Inferences that are drawn during discourse comprehension:

_______ connects individual sentences and ideas in a discourse.

The local structure of a text refers to:

The three representations of discourse are:

Which of the following was NOT a focus of the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) study?

The level of discourse that specifies the meaning of a passage apart from the exact words used is the:

McKoon and Ratliff's (1980) study of spreading activation showed that the greatest degree of priming was between propositions:

The distinction between direct matching and bridging is that in bridging:

Jarvella (1971) presented individuals with a long oral passage, interrupted it at irregular intervals, and had them write down as much of the preceding discourse as they could, verbatim. The results showed that the percentage of correct recall of a clause was greater if:

.Kintsch and Keenan (1973) found that sentences with more propositions _____ than those with fewer propositions.

Daneman and Carpenter (1980) found that students with better performance on the reading span task: