The role of filled pauses in the generation of inferences and the recognition of spoken words

CEVASCO, J

Montreal

Conferencia; 22nda Reunión de la Sociedad de Texto y Discurso; 2012

Society for Text and Discourse

This study examined the effect of hearing filled pauses in the generation of causal inferences and the recognition of words mentioned during a conversation. Participants listened to excerpts of interviews, and performed a judgment task and a word recognition task, after they had or had not heard a filled pause. There were no differences in reaction times in the judgment task. Recognition times were slower after participants had heard a filled pause than when it had been edited, suggesting that hearing them produces a discontinuity with the information in the statement, but does not hinder the generation of inferences.