Doctoral Dissertation Research: Examining the Role of Literacy on Predictive Processing during Spoken Language Comprehension

预测被认为是一种促进语言理解的心理操作。也就是说，当听一个句子时，听者会对即将出现的单词进行预测(例如，在听到“我用奶油和……喝咖啡”后，预测“糖”)。当人们的预测是正确的时，单词读得更快，因为这个人已经预见到了即将发生的事情。以往的实验研究表明，阅读任务中的预测受阅读技能的影响。对这一发现的解释是，因为阅读使人们接触到不同类型的句子结构和更广泛的词汇，高阅读技能的人增加了可以用来产生准确预测的知识。然而，在过去的文献中没有考虑到的一个方面是社会经济地位(SES)的作用。这是一个需要调查的重要变量，因为来自低SES背景的人也更有可能没有阅读经验。因此，目前还不清楚影响预测能力的是阅读技能本身还是社会经济地位。明确这一点是本博士论文研究的目标。在一个识字能力和社会地位没有直接联系的社区中，我们将进行两个实验，以确定识字能力在口语理解过程中对预测加工的作用。在实验1中，当参与者听句子时，电脑屏幕上显示的物体的眼动将被记录下来，这些句子的预期提示是语法的。实验2还将采用眼球跟踪技术，这一次将考察语法和语义线索如何调节预期过程。拟议实验的结果将被用于为不同和不那么有利的人群创建和提供识字研讨会。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Prediction has been proposed as a mental operation that facilitates language comprehension. That is, when listening to a sentence, a listener makes predictions about up-coming words (for instance, predicting "sugar" after hearing "I drink my coffee with cream and ..."). When people's predictions are correct, words are read faster because the person has anticipated what is coming up. Past experimental research has demonstrated that prediction in a reading task is modulated by reading skill. The interpretation of this finding is that because reading exposes people to different types of sentence structures and to a wider range of vocabulary, individuals with high reading skill have added knowledge that can be used to generate accurate predictions. One aspect that has not been considered in past literature, however, is the role of socioeconomic status (SES). This is an important variable to investigate because individuals from low SES backgrounds are also more likely to have less reading experience. Hence, it is unclear whether it is reading skill per se or socioeconomic status that impacts predictive ability. Clarifying this point is the goal of the present doctoral dissertation research study.Drawing data from participants in a community where literacy and SES are not directly linked, two experiments will be conducted to determine the role of literacy on predictive processing during spoken language comprehension. In Experiment 1, eye movements to objects displayed on a computer screen will be recorded while participants listen to sentences where the cue to anticipation is grammatical. Experiment 2 will also employ an eye tracking technique, this time to examine how grammatical and semantic cues modulate anticipatory processes. Findings from the proposed experiments will be used to create and to offer literacy workshops for diverse and less-advantaged populations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.