Hörnig Robin, Oberauer Klaus, Weidenfeld Andrea
University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Mem Cognit. 2005 Jan;33(1):131-9. doi: 10.3758/bf03195303.
We propose two principles that facilitate integration of two relational premises in spatial reasoning. Integration is easier if the anaphor in the second premise, P2, bears the role of the relatum (relatum = given). Moreover, integration is easier if, in P2, the anaphor is mentioned before the new element (given-new). In premises with canonical word order (grammatical subjects mentioned first), these principles always conflict with one another. In topicalized statements mentioning the prepositional phrase first, the two principles work in tandem. By varying word order, we tested the two principles by measuring P2 comprehension times. Comprehension times indicated that integration was easiest when P2 obeyed both principles and most difficult when both principles were violated. Canonical premises were of intermediate difficulty. This pattern emerged regardless of whether the anaphor was a definite description or a pronoun.
我们提出了两条有助于在空间推理中整合两个关系前提的原则。如果第二个前提（P2）中的指代语承担了被关系项的角色（被关系项 = 已知项），那么整合会更容易。此外，如果在P2中，指代语在新元素之前被提及（已知 - 新信息），那么整合也会更容易。在具有规范词序（语法主语首先被提及）的前提中，这两条原则总是相互冲突。在首先提及介词短语的主题化陈述中，这两条原则协同作用。通过改变词序，我们通过测量对P2的理解时间来测试这两条原则。理解时间表明，当P2同时遵循这两条原则时，整合最容易；而当两条原则都被违反时，整合最困难。规范前提的难度处于中间水平。无论指代语是限定描述还是代词，这种模式都会出现。
