Modeling Concept Activation in Working Memory during Online Sentence Processing

Patrick Plummer, Hsueh Cheng Wang, Yuhtsuen Tzeng, Marc Pomplun, Keith Rayner

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

There have been several computational alternatives to the cloze task (Taylor, 1953) intended to approximate word predictability effects on eye movements during reading. In this study, we implement a computational model that instantiates each content word in a sentence as an input that activates semantic concepts in working memory. The predictability of a word is then determined by the extent to which its corresponding semantic representation is associated with the network of concepts already active in working memory from the preceding context. The computation of concept activation is based on a connectionist model (Landscape model, see van den Broek, 2010). Latent semantic analysis (LSA) is used to establish connections between words and simulate the long-term semantic associations among concepts (Landauer & Dumais, 1997). This model provides a means of investigating how language comprehension and eye movement behavior are affected by the activation of concepts in working memory.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBuilding Bridges Across Cognitive Sciences Around the World - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2012
EditorsNaomi Miyake, David Peebles, Richard P. Cooper
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages875-880
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780976831884
StatePublished - 2012
Event34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Building Bridges Across Cognitive Sciences Around the World, CogSci 2012 - Sapporo, Japan
Duration: 1 Aug 20124 Aug 2012

Publication series

NameBuilding Bridges Across Cognitive Sciences Around the World - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2012

Conference

Conference34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Building Bridges Across Cognitive Sciences Around the World, CogSci 2012
Country/TerritoryJapan
CitySapporo
Period1/08/124/08/12

Keywords

  • eye movements
  • Landscape model
  • latent semantic analysis
  • reading
  • word predictability

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