Updating situation models.

Abstract

The authors examined how situation models are updated during text comprehension. If comprehenders keep track of the evolving situation, they should update their models such that the most current information, the here and now, is more available than outdated information. Contrary to this updating hypothesis, E. J. O'Brien, M. L. Rizzella, J. E. Albrecht, and J. G. Halleran (1998) obtained results suggesting that outdated or incorrect information may still influence the comprehension process. The authors of the current study demonstrate that the nature of E. J. O'Brien et al.'s materials were the likely cause of this pattern of results. Hence, the current authors constructed materials that circumvent identified confounds and in a reading-time experiment obtained evidence supporting the here-and-now hypothesis.

Revising what readers know: Updating text representations during narrative comprehension

“…Updating can be defined as encoding, adding to, or changing representations in memory. This diverse, and admittedly broad, category of processes includes, but is not limited to, the assimilation and accommodation of information (Piaget, 1957), conceptual change learning (e.g., Posner, Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 1982), the correction of misinformation in memory (Johnson & Seifert, 1998), the reactivation of prior text information during reading , and the evaluation of new information against a current discourse model (Zwaan & Madden, 2004). Each of these accounts attempts to describe how and when memory changes during various learning experiences.…”

Readers’ use of source information in text comprehension

“…A great deal of research has been conducted to investigate this very issue. For example, some researchers have incorporated additional manipulations into the inconsistency paradigm, including adding qualifications with and without reasons (e.g., "Mary doesn't stick to her diet when dining out"), shifting of time frames (e.g., "Mary is not a vegetarian anymore"), and negations and refutations with or without substantial explanations (e.g., "Mary was never a vegetarian") (Guéraud et al 2005;O'Brien et al 1998;Rapp & Kendeou, 2007Zwaan & Madden, 2004). In response to these reading situations, the initially represented information will often display a continued influence on comprehension-regardless of whether that portion of the reader's representation was deemed by the text as operational or not.…”

Canceling updating in the comprehension of counterfactuals embedded in narratives

“…Updating takes place when readers modify their representation according to the evolving situation described by the text (e.g., de Vega, 1995;Glenberg, Meyer, & Lindem, 1987;O'Brien, Cook, & Peracchi, 2004;Zwaan & Madden, 2004). Consequently, the most recent situation state from the protagonist's point of view (the here-and-now) should be more accessible in memory than are outdated situation states (Zwaan & Madden, 2004). In some cases, the situation model unfolds matching the lineal structure of the text, but sometimes there is a mismatch between the situation here-and-now and the superficial text.…”