The experiments done by Corbett and Chang (1983)and Ehrlich and Rayner (1983)regarding pronominal reference provide evidence that contradicts which theory?
A) the principle of minimal attachment
B) the immediacy-of-processing principle
C) the bridging inference principle
D) the parsing law of sentences

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experiments conducted by Corbett and Chang (1983) and Ehrlich and Rayner (1983) contradict the immediacy-of-processing principle, which suggests that comprehension favors the interpretation of a pronoun as referring to the most recently mentioned noun. These experiments showed that readers take into account relevant antecedents beyond the most recent noun in order to correctly identify the referent of a pronoun. The other choices (A, C, and D) are not necessarily contradicted by these experiments.

The Experiments Done by Corbett and Chang (1983)and Ehrlich and Rayner