Abstract
Four experiments investigated whether subjects understand the supposedly generic he generically. In Experiment I, subjects responded YES if an auditorily presented sentence could refer to a female and otherwise NO. Responses were 98% correct for sentences containing sex-specific nouns and pronouns, but 87% incorrect (i.e., NO) for sentences containing generic he . In Experiment II, subjects heard identical sentences but responded YES if the sentence could refer to a male. Responses were 99% correct, indicating high availability of the concept “male” for sentences containing generic he . In Experiment III, responses were 97% incorrect with she substituted for he in otherwise identical generic sentences. Experiment IV determined the effect of removing the pronouns from the sentences. The results inspired a general model of processes underlying the comprehension and production of pronouns.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have