{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/72123"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/72123","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"The Effects of Focus During Sentence Comprehension","abstract":"In a series of experiments I investigated the effects of linguistic focus on people's memory for words in sentences. I tested whether using phrases like "It was the ... " and "There was this ... " to focus on a particular word, enhances memory for particular types of information about the word, including its identity and its phonological and semantic characteristics. In each of four experiments, subjects read sentences that varied according to whether or not they placed a single, critical word (the prime) in focus. Each sentence was followed, either immediately, or after a delay, by a target word that subjects responded to in a speeded recognition task (Experiments 1 and 4), a naming task (Experiment 3), or both (Experiment 2). The results indicated that the identity of a word was consistently better remembered when it had been focused (Experiments 1-4). Also, phonological information about the words was found to be better remembered for focused words in the naming task (Experiment 3) and in the delayed recognition task (Experiment 4), but not in the immediate recognition task (Experiment 1). Memory for semantic information about words was not affected by focus. The results suggest that placing a word in focus enhances memory not for semantic information, which is ordinarily well-remembered anyway, but for word-identity and phonological information, i.e., two types of information that ordinarily are not well-remembered.","abstract_html":"In a series of experiments I investigated the effects of linguistic focus on people's memory for words in sentences. I tested whether using phrases like "It was the ... " and "There was this ... " to focus on a particular word, enhances memory for particular types of information about the word, including its identity and its phonological and semantic characteristics. In each of four experiments, subjects read sentences that varied according to whether or not they placed a single, critical word (the prime) in focus. Each sentence was followed, either immediately, or after a delay, by a target word that subjects responded to in a speeded recognition task (Experiments 1 and 4), a naming task (Experiment 3), or both (Experiment 2). The results indicated that the identity of a word was consistently better remembered when it had been focused (Experiments 1-4). Also, phonological information about the words was found to be better remembered for focused words in the naming task (Experiment 3) and in the delayed recognition task (Experiment 4), but not in the immediate recognition task (Experiment 1). Memory for semantic information about words was not affected by focus. The results suggest that placing a word in focus enhances memory not for semantic information, which is ordinarily well-remembered anyway, but for word-identity and phonological information, i.e., two types of information that ordinarily are not well-remembered.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Birch, Stacy Lynette"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Garnsey, Susan,"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-12-17T20:25:22Z","date_published":"2014-12-17T20:25:22Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:06Z","subjects":["Language, Linguistics","Psychology, Experimental"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["(UMI)AAI9328973"],"render_values":[{"text":"(UMI)AAI9328973","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72123","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Garnsey, Susan,"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Birch, Stacy Lynette"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014-12-17T20:25:22Z","10000-01-01","1993"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Language, Linguistics","Psychology, Experimental"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72123","(UMI)AAI9328973"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["In a series of experiments I investigated the effects of linguistic focus on people's memory for words in sentences. I tested whether using phrases like "It was the ... " and "There was this ... " to focus on a particular word, enhances memory for particular types of information about the word, including its identity and its phonological and semantic characteristics. In each of four experiments, subjects read sentences that varied according to whether or not they placed a single, critical word (the prime) in focus. Each sentence was followed, either immediately, or after a delay, by a target word that subjects responded to in a speeded recognition task (Experiments 1 and 4), a naming task (Experiment 3), or both (Experiment 2). The results indicated that the identity of a word was consistently better remembered when it had been focused (Experiments 1-4). Also, phonological information about the words was found to be better remembered for focused words in the naming task (Experiment 3) and in the delayed recognition task (Experiment 4), but not in the immediate recognition task (Experiment 1). Memory for semantic information about words was not affected by focus. The results suggest that placing a word in focus enhances memory not for semantic information, which is ordinarily well-remembered anyway, but for word-identity and phonological information, i.e., two types of information that ordinarily are not well-remembered.","Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T20:25:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 9328973.pdf: 5010989 bytes, checksum: 66d12f041b55249b9db45449c497deab (MD5) Previous issue date: 1993","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 72291 Lift date: Forever Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","U of I Only","127 p.","Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effects of Focus During Sentence Comprehension"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Garnsey, Susan,"],"dc:creator":["Birch, Stacy Lynette"],"dc:date":["2014-12-17T20:25:22Z","10000-01-01","1993"],"dc:description":["In a series of experiments I investigated the effects of linguistic focus on people's memory for words in sentences. I tested whether using phrases like "It was the ... " and "There was this ... " to focus on a particular word, enhances memory for particular types of information about the word, including its identity and its phonological and semantic characteristics. In each of four experiments, subjects read sentences that varied according to whether or not they placed a single, critical word (the prime) in focus. Each sentence was followed, either immediately, or after a delay, by a target word that subjects responded to in a speeded recognition task (Experiments 1 and 4), a naming task (Experiment 3), or both (Experiment 2). The results indicated that the identity of a word was consistently better remembered when it had been focused (Experiments 1-4). Also, phonological information about the words was found to be better remembered for focused words in the naming task (Experiment 3) and in the delayed recognition task (Experiment 4), but not in the immediate recognition task (Experiment 1). Memory for semantic information about words was not affected by focus. The results suggest that placing a word in focus enhances memory not for semantic information, which is ordinarily well-remembered anyway, but for word-identity and phonological information, i.e., two types of information that ordinarily are not well-remembered.","Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T20:25:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 9328973.pdf: 5010989 bytes, checksum: 66d12f041b55249b9db45449c497deab (MD5) Previous issue date: 1993","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 72291 Lift date: Forever Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","U of I Only","127 p.","Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993."],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72123","(UMI)AAI9328973"],"dc:subject":["Language, Linguistics","Psychology, Experimental"],"dc:title":["The Effects of Focus During Sentence Comprehension"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:06Z"}