Retrieval interference in the processing of relative clauses: evidence from the visual-world paradigm
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Although object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) are more difficult to process than subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs), there is still substantial disagreement regarding the cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects. The current visual-world eyetracking experiment took a novel approach to this problem by examining whether ORC-SRC differences would emerge at the matrix verb during the processing of spoken sentences containing these structures. Fixation patterns at the onset of the matrix verb revealed a tendency for participants to fixate the picture representing the subject of the sentence in both ORCs and SRCs. Crucially, participants considered the picture corresponding to a competing noun more while processing ORCs versus SRCs. The results are most readily explained under a memory-retrieval account of relative-clause processing, according to which language comprehenders experience less retrieval interference while processing SRCs than ORCs. The findings also highlight the visual-world paradigm as a fruitful approach for studying the processing of complex syntactic structures.
Source: Figshare
Authors: Lowder, Matthew W., Ryan, Gwynna
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7140570767