Mental representations in discourse comprehension: From lineal signifier to situation model

This article presents and discusses several levels of mental representations and the mechanisms involved in their development during the process of discourse comprehension. Fundamentally, it distinguishes those representations strictly linguistic, associated with the linear structure of language, from those linked to the meaning and content, whose nature has a not linear character. These distinctions, which are present in linguistics from its origins, remain at current psycholinguistic models. Among the mental representations here presented, we discuss deeper around the concept of situation model, analyzing its foundations and contrasting it with new perspectives, such as the embodiment theories.