Pronoun resolution and discourse models.
Abstract
Psychological investigations of pronoun resolution have implicitly assumed that the processes involved automatically provide a unique referent for every pronoun. We challenge this assumption and propose a new framework for studying pronoun resolution. Drawing on advances in discourse representation and global memory modeling, this framework suggests that automatic processes may not always identify a unique referent for a pronoun. In 9 experiments, we demonstrate that, unlike noun anaphors, pronouns sometimes do not produce relative facilitation of their referents in comparison with nonreferents. We argue that research on pronoun resolution must consider the discourse contexts in which pronouns are likely to occur.
Cites (1)
- Common ground at the understanding of demonstrative referenceClark, Herbert H., Schreuder, Robert, Buttrick, Samuel · 1983 · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
Cited by (3)
- An integrated theory of language production and comprehensionPickering, Martin J., Garrod, Simon · 2013 · Behavioral and Brain Sciences
- The rapid use of gender information: evidence of the time course of pronoun resolution from eyetrackingArnold, J · 2000 · Cognition
- Interference between conversation and a concurrent visuomotor task.Boiteau, Timothy W., Malone, Patrick S., Peters, Sara A., Almor, Amit · 2014 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Pronoun resolution and discourse models. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0278-7393.18.2.266
- The paper
- Greene, S. B., McKoon, G., & Ratcliff, R. (1992). Pronoun resolution and discourse models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-7393.18.2.266
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