EFFECT OF CONNECTIVES ON ONLINE PROCESSING OF PROPOSITIONS EXPRESSING CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONS

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of four connectives on the representation and thematic integration of propositions expressing cause-effect relations : cause-expected effect (because and since) and cause-unexpected effect (although and albeit). Two experiments were carried out. Different measures were made on reading times for initial clause (RTIC), recognition times for a word extracted from this clause (RTW) (Experiment 1) or meaning judgment limes (MJT) (Experiment 2) and reading times for the final clause (RTFC). 48 students participated in the experiments, 24 in each of them. RTIPs are shorter when connectives express an expected causal link (because and since). RTWs are shorter and MJT are longer with concessive connectives (although and albeit). Initial clause processing depends on the explicitation by the connective of the dependence of the propositional content. RTFCs seem to depend more on the illocutionary force of connectives than on their semantic function : faster processing with << since >> and << although >> than with << because>> and << albeit >>.