Processing Italian relative clauses: working memory span and word order effects on RTs.
In this study, the authors aim to clarify whether the subject-object asymmetry in relative clause comprehension is due to the use of parsing strategies (Active Filler Theory) or to a greater memory load generated by object sentences. Two experiments investigate how individual differences in working memory span may influence the reading times of relative sentences in Italian, a language characterized by a flexible structure. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that object extraction is more complex than subject extraction when sentences have a canonical structure. Furthermore, low-span participants have particular difficulties with object relative sentence comprehension. The results of Experiment 2 show that subject-relative clauses with uncanonical structures are more complex to understand than object-relative clauses, and low-span participants have more difficulties than high-span participants in elaborating both subject and object relative clauses. These data seem to be coherent with the Active Filler Theory.
Di Domenico
Alberto
A
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Chieti, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy. alberto.didomenico@unich.it
Di Matteo
Rosalia
R
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics; D055815:Young Adult