We report the results of two eye-tracking experiments that examine how
readers process sentences containing anaphoric pronouns when the refe
rent is provided by a preceding quantified statement. Previous studies
(Moxey & Sanford, 1987; Sanford, Moxey, & Paterson, 1996) have shown
that positive and negative quantifiers (e.g., a few and few, respectiv
ely) cause subjects to focus on different aspects of the described sit
uation and have direct consequences for the interpretation of subseque
nt anaphoric pronouns. In the present studies, we consider whether pos
itive and negative quantifiers make different sets available as the re
ferents of subsequent anaphora or if readers must infer the nature of
these sets on encountering the anaphor. The results suggest that posit
ives do make sets available as referents, whereas in the case of negat
ives, readers must infer the referent set. The findings are consistent
with linguistic arguments concerning the differences between positive
and negative quantifiers and add to our understanding of complex plur
al anaphora. (C) 1998 Academic Press.