TY - JOUR

T1 - Expectations on Hierarchical Scales of Discourse

T2 - Multifractality Predicts Both Short- and Long-Range Effects of Violating Gender Expectations in Text Reading

AU - Booth, Chase R.

AU - Brown, Hannah L.

AU - Eason, Elizabeth G.

AU - Wallot, Sebastian

AU - Kelty-Stephen, Damian G.

PY - 2018/1/2

Y1 - 2018/1/2

N2 - Reader expectations form across hierarchical scales of discourse (e.g., from coarse to fine: genre, narrative, syntax). Cross-scale interactivity produces word reading times (RTs) with multifractal structure. After introducing multifractals, we test two hypotheses regarding their relevance to reader expectations: (1) multifractal evidence of cross-scale interactions from RTs preceding violation of expectations would interact with mean reading speed to predict RTs immediately after the expectation violation and (2) postsurprise RTs would exhibit stronger cross-scale interactions. Thirty-four adult participants read one of two 2,000-word stories that used gender stereotypes to suggest that an ambiguously named protagonist was male. However, the stories postponed gender information until word 1,000: male in one story and female in the other. For slower readers, cross-scale interactions accentuated postreveal slowing but also minimized subsequent pausing over 15 postreveal RTs. Surprise strengthened cross-scale interactions over all postsurprise RTs. These results suggest that multifractality may index anticipation across multiple scales of discourse.

AB - Reader expectations form across hierarchical scales of discourse (e.g., from coarse to fine: genre, narrative, syntax). Cross-scale interactivity produces word reading times (RTs) with multifractal structure. After introducing multifractals, we test two hypotheses regarding their relevance to reader expectations: (1) multifractal evidence of cross-scale interactions from RTs preceding violation of expectations would interact with mean reading speed to predict RTs immediately after the expectation violation and (2) postsurprise RTs would exhibit stronger cross-scale interactions. Thirty-four adult participants read one of two 2,000-word stories that used gender stereotypes to suggest that an ambiguously named protagonist was male. However, the stories postponed gender information until word 1,000: male in one story and female in the other. For slower readers, cross-scale interactions accentuated postreveal slowing but also minimized subsequent pausing over 15 postreveal RTs. Surprise strengthened cross-scale interactions over all postsurprise RTs. These results suggest that multifractality may index anticipation across multiple scales of discourse.

KW - Psychology

KW - Empirical education research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84981505044&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/0163853X.2016.1197811

DO - 10.1080/0163853X.2016.1197811

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:84981505044

VL - 55

SP - 12

EP - 30

JO - Discourse Processes

JF - Discourse Processes

SN - 0163-853X

IS - 1

ER -