The Generation of Knowledge - Based Inferences During Narrative Comprehension

Research attempts to explain what knowledge - based inferences are constructed during text comprehension, what generic knowledge structures these inferences come from, what symbolic procedures participate in these inference mechanisms, and the structure and content of bothgeneric knowledge structures and the passage representations.

Abstract

Knowledge - based inferences are what some researchers call pragmatic inferences (as opposed to propositional, logic - based, or necessary inferences). We have conducted research which attempts to explain (a) what knowledge - based inferences are constructed during text comprehension, (b) what generic knowledge structures these inferences come from, (c) what symbolic procedures participate in these inference mechanisms, and (d) the structure and content of both generic knowledge structures and the passage representations. We have developed and used a question answering methodology which traces the dynamic construction of knowledge - based inferences during comprehension. We have developed a workable theory of knowledge representation which can be applied both to passages and to generic knowledge structures (e. g. schemas, frames, scripts, stereotypes, etc.).