Memory retrieval and prediction interact in sentence comprehension: An experimental evaluation of a cue-based retrieval model

Abstract

Memory retrieval and prediction are typically studied separately, so little is known about their interaction. To address this gap, we studied a construction known to simultaneously trigger antecedent retrieval and possessee prediction processes: German possessive pronouns. We examined the comprehension of possessive pronouns using eye-tracking and computational modeling. Specifically, we chose an existing cue-based retrieval model that formalized prediction as a memory retrieval process. We used the model to generate predicted fixation patterns for a novel linguistic configuration, which replaced the possessive pronoun with an indefinite determiner. This allowed maintaining the prediction process—as German determiners agree in gender with a following noun—while effectively removing the antecedent retrieval process—as indefinite determiners, unlike pronouns, do not presuppose but rather introduce a new discourse referent. The eye-tracking results showed that participants’ predictions were affected by similarity-based interference, a well-known marker of memory processes. However, the timecourse of the novel determiner condition was different than predicted by the computational model. To better capture the behavioral data, we extended the model by introducing a process motivated by the semantics of indefinite determiners. Our results support the claim that linguistic predictions can be formalized as feature-driven processes that operate on representations shared by predictive and retrieval mechanisms.