title: Processing Conversational Implicatures: Alternatives and Counterfactual Reasoning.
abstract: In a series of experiments, Bott and Noveck (2004) found that the computation of scalar inferences, a variety of conversational implicature, caused a delay in response times. In order to determine what aspect of the inferential process that underlies scalar inferences caused this delay, we extended their paradigm to three other kinds of inferences: free choice inferences, conditional perfection, and exhaustivity in "it"-clefts. In contrast to scalar inferences, the computation of these three kinds of inferences facilitated response times. Following a suggestion made by Chemla and Bott (2014), we propose that the time it takes to compute a conversational implicature depends on the structural characteristics of the required alternatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Languages and Literature, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Tiel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schaeken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alternatives; Clefts; Conditional perfection; Conversational implicature; Free choice inferences; Pragmatics; Scalar inference; Sentence processing