The use of scripts in text comprehension

Abstract

The use of world knowledge is an important aspect of comprehending stories. In recent years it has been assumed — especially in Artificial Intelligence research — that an important part of this world knowledge is organized in so-called ‘scripts’. A processing principle which is used in Artificial Intelligence research, says that scripts would facilitate understanding of script-related information in stories, because they make it possible to expect this information. An experiment was designed to investigate the psychological relevance of this principle. In this experiment stories were presented sentence by sentence on a display terminal, in which the script actualization-sentences were manipulated. Reading time of criterion-sentences, which were compatible or less compatible with the actualized script-sentences was measured. Sentences compatible with the script actualization-sentence were understood faster than less compatible sentences. It was concluded that actualization of a script facilitates comprehension of information related to that script. In the discussion, attention was paid to the problem that scripts are not sharply defined and to the notion of expectation in text processing.