Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
Cogn Sci. 2011 Jul;35(5):983-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01164.x. Epub 2011 Jan 5.
We explored the influence of negation on cognitive dynamics, measured using mouse-movement trajectories, to test the classic notion that negation acts as an operator on linguistic processing. In three experiments, participants verified the truth or falsity of simple statements, and we tracked the computer-mouse trajectories of their responses. Sentences expressing these facts sometimes contained a negation. Such negated statements could be true (e.g., "elephants are not small") or false (e.g., "elephants are not large"). In the first experiment, as predicted by the classic notion of negation, we found that negation caused more discreteness in the mouse trajectory of a response. The second experiment induced a simple context for these statements, yet negation still increased discreteness in trajectories. A third experiment enhanced the pragmatic context of sentences, and the discreteness was substantially diminished, with one primary measure no longer significantly showing increased discreteness at all. Traditional linguistic theories predict rapid shifts in cognitive dynamics occur due to the nature of negation: It is an operator that reverses the truth or falsity of an interpretation. We argue that these results support both propositional and contextual accounts of negation present in the literature, suggesting that contextual factors are crucial for determining the kind of cognitive dynamics displayed. We conclude by drawing broader lessons about theories of cognition from the case of negation.
我们探讨了否定对认知动态的影响，使用鼠标移动轨迹进行测量，以检验否定作为语言处理操作符的经典观点。在三个实验中，参与者验证了简单陈述的真实性或虚假性，我们跟踪了他们回答的计算机鼠标轨迹。表达这些事实的句子有时包含否定。这样的否定陈述可能是真的（例如，“大象不小”）或假的（例如，“大象不大”）。在第一个实验中，正如否定的经典观点所预测的那样，我们发现否定导致响应鼠标轨迹的离散度增加。第二个实验为这些陈述引入了一个简单的语境，但否定仍然增加了轨迹的离散度。第三个实验增强了句子的语用语境，离散度大大降低，一个主要措施根本不再显著增加离散度。传统的语言理论预测，由于否定的性质，认知动态会迅速发生变化：它是一个运算符，反转了解释的真实性或虚假性。我们认为，这些结果支持否定的文献中的命题和语境解释，表明语境因素对于确定所显示的认知动态类型至关重要。最后，我们从否定的案例中得出了关于认知理论的更广泛的结论。
