It is argued that previous research examining the presence of inferential elaborations in subject responses to memory tasks failed to determine the locus of inference production, (i.e., comprehension or retrieval). Three experiments are reported which were designed to make this determination. Each experiment used a different paradigm: (1) cued recall, (2) recognition, and (3) reaction time. The particular inferences of concern were instruments and/or consequences of action implied by the text. The results of the three experiments support the position that such inferences are made during comprehension.
BartlettF. C.Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychologyCambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932.
4.
BransfordJ. D.BarclayJ. R.FranksJ. J.Sentence memory: A constructive versus interpretive approach. Cognitive Psychology, 1972, 3, 193–209.
5.
BransfordJ. D.MccarrellN. W.A sketch of a cognitive approach to comprehension: Some thoughts about understanding what it means to comprehend. In WeimerW.PalermoD. (Eds.), Cognition and the symbolic processesHillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1974.
6.
CorbettA. T.DosherB. A.Instrument inferences in sentence encoding. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1978, 17, 479–491.
7.
CraikF. I. M.TulvingE.Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1975, 104, 268–294.
8.
FergusonG. A.Statistical analysis in Psychology & Education, 3rd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1971.
9.
FrederiksenC. H.Acquisition of semantic information from discourse: Effects of repeated exposures. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975(a), 14, 158–169.
10.
FrederiksenC. H.Effects of context-induced processing operation semantic information acquired from discourse. Cognitive Psychology, 1975(b), 7, 139–166.
11.
HarrisR. J.MonacoG. E.The psychology of pragmatic implication: Information processing between the lines. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1978, 107, 1–22.
12.
JohnsonM. K.BransfordJ. D.SolomonS. K.Memory for tacit implications of sentences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1973, 98, 203–205.
13.
KintschW.The representation of meaning in memoryHillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1974.
14.
KintschW.KozminskyE.SterbyW. J.MckoonG.KeenanJ. M.Comprehension and recall of text as a function of context variables. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975, 14, 196–214.
15.
MeyerB. J. F.The organization of prose and its effect on recallAmsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1975.
16.
MillerR. B.PerryF. L.CunninghamD. J.Differential forgetting of superordinate and subordinate information acquired from prose material. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1977, 69, 730–735.
17.
ParisS. G.CarterA. Y.Semantic and constructive apsects of sentence memory in children. Developmental Psychology, 1973, 9, 109–113.
18.
ParisS. G.LindauerB. K.The role of inference in children's comprehension and memory for sentences. Cognitive Psychology, 1976, 8, 217–227.
19.
RederL. M.AndersonJ. R.BjorkR. A.A semantic interpretation of encoding specificity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974, 102, 648–656.
20.
RothkopfE. Z.Some theoretical and experimental approaches to problems in written instruction. In KrumboltzJ. D. (Ed.), Learning and the educational processChicago: Rand McNally, 1965.
21.
RumelhartD. E.OrtonyA.The representation of knowledge in memory. In AndersonR. C.SpiroR. J.MontagueW. E. (Eds.), Schooling and the acquisition of knowledgeHillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977.
22.
SchankR. C.Conceptual dependency: A theory of natural language understanding. Cognitive Psychology, 1972, 3, 552–631.
23.
SingerM.Processes of linguistic inference in the comprehension of sentences. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1973.
24.
SternbergS.Memory-scanning: Mental processes revealed by reaction-time experiments. American Scientist, 1969, 57, 421–457.
25.
ThorndykeP. W.The role of inferences in discourse comprehension. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1976, 15, 437–446.
26.
TillR.The role of inferences in sentence comprehension and recall. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Minnesota, 1974.
27.
TulvingE.ThomsonD. M.Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological Review, 1973, 80, 352–373.
28.
WatkinsM. J.TulvingE.Episodic memory: When recognition fails. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1975, 104, 5–29.
