Context and the activation of predictive inferences.

Previous research has demonstrated that the activation of predictive inferences can be affected both by the immediately preceding context and by the information contained in an earlier portion of a passage. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the same immediate context can result in the activation of different inferences when different character trait descriptions of the protagonist were presented earlier in the passage. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the trait descriptions produced activation of a specific inference; this occurred even though the immediately preceding context, in isolation, led to the activation of a different inference. The results of both experiments offer further support for the view that inference activation occurs as a result of the combined influence of the immediate context and the earlier portions of a text.