312 • CHAPTER 11 Language
the picture shows the object mentioned in the sentence, the correct
answer was “yes” no matter which nail was presented. However, par-
ticipants responded “yes” more rapidly when the picture’s orientation
matched the situation described in the picture (● Figure 11.11a).
The pictures for another experiment, involving object shape, are
shown in Figure 11.10b. The sentences for these pictures are- The ranger saw the eagle in the sky.
- The ranger saw the eagle in its nest.
In this experiment, by Zwaan and coworkers (2002), the picture of
an eagle with wings outstretched elicited a faster response when it fol-
lowed sentence 1 than when it followed sentence 2. Again, reaction
times were faster when the picture matched the situation described in
the sentence. This result, shown in Figure 11.11b, corresponds to the
result for the orientation experiment, and both experiments support the
idea that the participants created perceptions that matched the situa-
tion as they were reading the sentences.
The idea that readers create situation models has also been applied
to stories. For example, William Horton and David Rapp (2003) tested
this idea using short passages like the following:- Melanie ran downstairs and threw herself onto the couch.
- An exciting horror movie was on television.
- She opened a bag of chips and dug right in.
- She watched a vampire stalk the helpless victim.
- She had never seen this movie before.
Participants were then presented with one of the following endings.Blocked story continuation (● Figure 11.12a):6a. Melanie’s mother appeared in front of the TV.
7a. She told Melanie not to forget about her homework.orUnblocked story continuation (Figure 11.12b):6b. Melanie’s mother appeared behind the TV.
7b. She told Melanie not to forget about her homework.Participants read the story line by line from a computer screen. After sentence 7, a
warning tone sounded, indicating that the target question was going to be presented.
The target question for the story above was “Was the victim being stalked by a vam-
pire?” The participant’s task was to answer “yes” or “no” as quickly as possible by
pressing the correct key on the computer keyboard.
The situation model prediction is that participants who read the blocked story
continuation should react more slowly to the test question because the TV screen,
which contained the answer, was blocked, so Melanie wouldn’t be able to see the vam-
pire stalking its victim. The result, shown in Figure 11.12c, confi rms this prediction—
responding was slower in the blocked condition. This supports the idea that readers
represent story events in a manner similar to actual perception. That is, they experience
a story as if they are experiencing the situation described in the text.
The experiments we have described so far have emphasized perception. But the
situation model approach also includes the idea that a reader or listener simulates the
motor characteristics of the objects in a story. According to this idea, a story that involves
movement will result in simulation of this movement as the person is comprehending
the story. For example, reading a story about a bicycle elicits not only the perception of
what a bicycle looks like, but also properties associated with movement, such as how●FIGURE 11.11 Results of Stanfi eld and Zwaan’s
(2001) and Zwaan et al.’s (2002) experiments.
Participants responded “yes” more rapidly for the
orientation (in a) and the shape (in b) that was
more consistent with the sentence. (Source: Based on
R. A. Stanfi eld & R. A. Zwaan, “The Eff ect of Implied Orientation
Derived From Verbal Content on Picture Recognition,”
Psychological Science, 12, 153–156, 2001.)900800700600Reaction time (ms)0
Shape
experiment(a)Orientation (b)
experimentMatch
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