Functional Unexpectedness: Reframing the role of predictability in language comprehension

This thesis explored the role of unexpected information during naturalistic language comprehension to determine if decreased predictability supported improved communication outcomes. Individuals listened to 12 short stories while measuring their electroencephalography, then were tested on their contextual understanding of each story. Using a novel contextual alignment metric and neurophysiological markers of individual differences, the findings of this thesis provided evidence for specific processing conditions which supported greater comprehension of unexpected story elements. Individuals with complementary internal and external processing conditions were suggested to prioritise updating of internal predictive models in response to unexpected information. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual and contextual differences during naturalistic language processing.

Author dc:creator

• Platt, Ashley

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hutchinson, Amanda

• unexpectedness
• naturalistic language comprehension
• electroencephalography

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2440/151124

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/151124