SITUATION MODELS AND ABSTRACT OWNERSHIP RELATIONS

Six experiments used a fan-effect paradigm to test whether people can use the abstract relation of ownership to help integrate information i nto situation models. People studied sentences of the form The [person ] owns/is buying the [object] for a later recognition test. The integr ation of sentences into a situation model (as evidenced by an attenuat ed or absent fan effect) was observed when the verb phrase referred to a specific event (is buying) and the objects could all be bought in t he same place (e.g., a drugstore). This organization did not occur eit her when the verb phrase referred to general ownership (owns) or when the items were unlikely to be purchased in a single location (e.g., te levision and car). It was concluded that although abstract relations c an be used to segregate information into sets that can be integrated i nto situation models, this integration is more likely when it can be e mbedded within a spatial-temporal framework.