Get started
Work

Similarity-based interference in the processing of classifier-noun dependencies in Mandarin Chinese

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • Four studies tested interference effects in Mandarin classifier-noun dependencies. • Bayes factor analyses provided evidence for facilitatory interference but not for inhibitory interference. • Interference did not arise when the distractor noun linearly precedes the distractor noun. During the processing of linguistic dependencies, the presence of a non-dependent word—referred to as a distractor—can sometimes complicate the identification of the correct subject. This phenomenon, known as similarity-based interference, provides a valuable testing ground for competing theories of sentence processing and has garnered significant interest in the field of psycholinguistics. One prominent theory, cue-based retrieval, suggests that the parser initiates a search for the relevant linguistic dependent at the retrieval site (e.g., the verb) based on a set of retrieval cues. In this work, we explore the use of lexicon-specific cues set by classifiers in the retrieval of noun dependents in Mandarin Chinese to provide evidence for the cue-based retrieval mechanism. A further open question is whether the distractor must intervene between the co-dependents (so-called retroactive interference) or whether the distractor can appear to the left of the dependent elements (so-called proactive interference). Previous work has suggested that proactive interference is weaker than retroactive interference, i.e., that the distractor has to intervene between the co-dependents to influence the dependency completion process. Using self-paced reading and A-Maze tasks, and Bayes Factors for hypothesis testing, we found robust evidence for a predicted interference effect in retroactive configurations, but no interference in proactive configurations. We discuss the theoretical implications of the current work for theories of retrieval and sentence processing in general.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2025.104669
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,670
OpenAlex ID: W4412469543
FWCI:
Cites: 103
Cited by:
Related to: 10