Distinguishing Discrete and Gradient Category Structure in Language: Insights From Verb-Particle Constructions

作者：Brehm Laurel^*; Goldrick Matthew

来源：Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition , 2017, 43(10): 1537-1556.

DOI：10.1037/xlm0000390

• mental representation
• sentence processing
• illusory conjunction
• break point modeling
• gradient symbolic computation

The current work uses memory errors to examine the mental representation of verb-particle constructions (VPCs; e.g., make up the story, cut up the meat). Some evidence suggests that VPCs are represented by a cline in which the relationship between the VPC and its component elements ranges from highly transparent (cut up) to highly idiosyncratic (make up). Other evidence supports a multiple class representation, characterizing VPCs as belonging to discretely separated classes differing in semantic and syntactic structure. We outline a novel paradigm to investigate the representation of VPCs in which we elicit illusory conjunctions, or memory errors sensitive to syntactic structure. We then use a novel application of piecewise regression to demonstrate that the resulting error pattern follows a cline rather than discrete classes. A preregistered replication verifies these findings, and a final preregistered study verifies that these errors reflect syntactic structure. This provides evidence for gradient rather than discrete representations across levels of representation in language processing.

• 出版日期2017-10
• 单位西北大学