Syntactic Vulnerability and Thematic Misinterpretation

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Ferreira99-76584Abstract The correct interpretation of a sentence requires, among many other things, knowing which objects or actors named in the sentence played which roles in the event the sentence describes. In the sentence "The man bit the dog", for example, one needs to understand who did the biting in order to understand the sentence correctly. This interpretive process is referred to as binding thematic roles to concepts. The goal of this project is to develop and test a theory of how people do this in comprehending sentences communicated to them by others. Pilot work has shown that the process is not nearly so simple and straightforward as previous research has assumed. Even unambiguous sentences present surprising difficulties of interpretation. For example, undergraduate college students hearing the sentence "The dog was bitten by the man" misidentify the biter about a quarter of the time, even though they almost always correctly interpret "The man bit the dog". The project breaks down into three components: (1) To develop a mechanism for assigning thematic roles through syntax, which can explain how phrases become vulnerable to misinterpretation.(2) To provide an account of how that mechanism works with a parallel system that provides information about thematic roles via schematic knowledge.(3) To provide evidence regarding the kinds of influences that can exaggerate or ameliorate thematic misinterpretation, including linguistic, schematic, and individual difference variables.