OAKHILL_Reading_and_Writing_NOV 2016 (author copy).pdf (582.16 kB)
Aspects of pronominal resolution as markers of reading comprehension: The role of antecedent variability
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 15:24 authored by Carsten Elbro, Jane OakhillJane Oakhill, Hakima Megherbi, Alix SeigneuricThis study explored pronominal resolution as a measure of reading comprehension beyond single sentences. Specifically, it was hypothesized that the ability to specify the referents of pronouns like this and these that have variable antecedents would be a good probe of the quality of the reader’s mental model. This idea was tested in a study of 123 French eight-year-olds. After controlling for word decoding, vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, various aspects of pronominal comprehension were found to contribute independent variance to reading comprehension: (1) pronominal knowledge as measured in a pronoun selection task, (2) referent specification of pronouns that refer to protagonists. In addition, (3) referent specification of pronouns (French y and en) with variable antecedents added further independent variance. The results support the idea that the ability to specify referents accounts for unique variance in reading comprehension and may tap the quality of the reader’s mental model of preceding text.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Reading and WritingISSN
0922-4777Publisher
Springer VerlagExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
30Page range
813-827Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes