Effects of foregrounding on predictive inference generation by normally ageing adults

Abstract

Foregrounding, a technique that highlights concepts in discourse, was investigated as a facilitator of predictive inferencing by normally ageing and young adults. Study participants listened to two versions of short discourse stimuli. In foregrounded versions, two consecutive sentences referred to concepts that led to an implied outcome. Control passages contained the same key lexical elements, but did not predict the outcome. Inference generation was evaluated implicitly, using a word recognition task with a response deadline. Target words reflected predictive inferences from the foregrounded passages. An influence of foregrounding was evident in recognition accuracy for both groups and in response times for the older subjects. Discussion centres on the partial age-group discrepancy in results, possible mechanisms for the foregrounding effect and potential future clinical implications.