The Utilization of Prose Representations

Abstract

In Chapter 4 a method was described for exposing the content of schemas and the cognitive representations of passages. A representational system was also presented in which it was assumed that the cognitive representations consist of conceptual graph structures. These graph structures contain labeled nodes that are interconnected by labeled, directed arcs. In Chapter 4 no experimental evidence was presented that tested how well the theoretical graph structures approximate the true cognitive representations of passages. One goal in this chapter is to present supporting data. If the representations can account for data in a variety of behavioral tasks, then the representational system approaches credibility. As more data can be explained, the representational system becomes more credible. The studies reported in this chapter will not prove that the representational system is correct or better than all alternative representational systems. The enterprise is too young and the data are too scant to arrive at any definitive or sweeping statements. The most that can be hoped for is that some readers will be convinced that the proposed framework is worthwhile to pursue.