Memory benefits from contrastive focus truly require focus: evidence from clefts and connectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT Across three experiments, we investigated how different markers of contrastive focus affect text encoding and retention. Prior work suggests that some contrastive focus markers (e.g. contrastive pitch accents) can enhance long-term memory for discourse; we tested whether this arises from contrast alone or the realisation of linguistic focus in particular. Participants read texts containing true propositions for which a salient alternative was previously mentioned (e.g. The British scientists found the monkey when the French were previously mentioned) and took a memory test. Contrast markers alone (adversative connectives) did not facilitate retention whereas contrastive focus markers (it-clefts) did. However, contrary to what has been observed for other contrastive focus markers (contrastive pitch accents and font emphasis), it-clefts facilitated retention of focused words rather than salient alternatives. We suggest that, consistent with recent linguistic accounts, cognitive and mnemonic effects vary across contrastive focus markers as a function of properties such as exhaustivity.