Noun-phrase anaphors and focus: the informational load hypothesis

Abstract

The processing of noun-phrase (NP) anaphors in discourse is argued to reflect constraints on the activation and processing of semantic information in working memory. The proposed theory views NP anaphor processing as an optimization process that is based on the principle that processing cost, defined in terms of activating semantic information, should serve some discourse function--identifying the antecedent, adding new information, or both. In a series of 5 self-paced reading experiments, anaphors' functionality was manipulated by changing the discourse focus, and their cost was manipulated by changing the semantic relation between the anaphors and their antecedents. The results show that reading times of NP anaphors reflect their functional justification: Anaphors were read faster when their cost had a better functional justification. These results are incompatible with any theory that treats NP anaphors as one homogeneous class regardless of discourse function and processing cost.