A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Activating Gender Stereotypes During Online Spoken Language Processing Evidence From Visual World Eye Tracking
Authors: Pyykkonen P, Hyona J, van Gompel RPG
Publisher: HOGREFE & HUBER PUBLISHERS
Publication year: 2010
Journal: Experimental Psychology
Journal name in source: EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Journal acronym: EXP PSYCHOL
Number in series: 2
Volume: 57
Issue: 2
First page : 126
Last page: 133
Number of pages: 8
ISSN: 1618-3169
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000016
Abstract
This study used the visual world eye-tracking method to investigate activation of general world knowledge related to gender-stereotypical role names in online spoken language comprehension in Finnish. The results showed that listeners activated gender stereotypes elaboratively in story contexts where this information was not needed to build coherence. Furthermore, listeners made additional inferences based on gender stereotypes to revise an already established coherence relation. Both results are consistent with mental models theory (e.g., Garnham, 2001). They are harder to explain by the minimalist account (McKoon & Ratcliff, 1992), which suggests that people limit inferences to those needed to establish coherence in discourse.
This study used the visual world eye-tracking method to investigate activation of general world knowledge related to gender-stereotypical role names in online spoken language comprehension in Finnish. The results showed that listeners activated gender stereotypes elaboratively in story contexts where this information was not needed to build coherence. Furthermore, listeners made additional inferences based on gender stereotypes to revise an already established coherence relation. Both results are consistent with mental models theory (e.g., Garnham, 2001). They are harder to explain by the minimalist account (McKoon & Ratcliff, 1992), which suggests that people limit inferences to those needed to establish coherence in discourse.