Invariance of inference time when information was presented in different linguistic formats

Abstract

Ss read paragraphs varying in syntactic complexity, contiguity of information that was conceptually related, and amount of information relating to quantitative variables. Paragraphs were presented too briefly to allow full reading in many cases. In questions requiring use of the quantitative information, proportion of correct responses was influenced by syntax, contiguity, and number of variables from the paragraph. However, neither syntax nor contiguity influenced latency of correct answers, while number of variables, a factor affecting complexity of the process of answering, did influence correct response latency. The findings confirm and extend earlier results by Kintsch and Monk (1972) and give further support to the proposition that assimilation of information in linguistic input involves storing the semantic content of the message.