Hemispheric processing of predictive inferences: the effects of textual constraint and metacomprehension monitoring competence

Abstract

Previous research into predictive inferences making showed that textual constraint influenced hemispheric processing of the inferences. However, the relationship between metacomprehension monitoring competence (MMC) and hemispheric processing of predictive inferences has rarely been investigated. The present study employed a divided visual field (DVF) paradigm to examine the effects of textual constraint and MMC on hemispheric processing of predictive inferences with Chinese native speakers during Chinese text reading. Results showed that neither response time nor facilitation effects indicated any significant interaction for our MMC groups. MMC was unlikely to play a role in hemispheric processing of predictive inferences. The results were consistent with those of the very rare relevant previous research, in which readers’ judgments of learning failed to have significant effects on inference making performance while judgments of inferencing had. Future investigation could focus more on the study of an inference-specific dimension of metacomprehension monitoring that might be more closely related to inference making. Results also indicated that the left hemisphere (LH) showed greater facilitation for strongly constrained predictive inferences than for weakly constrained predictive inferences, and that the right hemisphere (RH) showed greater levels of facilitation for weakly constrained predictive inferences. Taken together, MMC did not seem to have a positive impact on hemispheric predictive inference making. There was a RH facilitation advantage for weakly constrained texts and an LH advantage for strongly constrained texts.

Keywords:

• predictive inferences
• metacomprehension monitoring competence
• hemispheres
• textual constraint
• Chinese narratives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by research grants awarded by National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science [18BYY088], the First-class Disciplines Project of Beijing Foreign Studies University [2020SYLZDXM040], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in Beijing Foreign Studies University [2019JX085] and 2019 Social Science Funds Project awarded by Qingdao University of Science and Technology [19XB11].