Go to OpenReview Archive homepageBridging a gap in coherence: The coordination of comprehension processes when viewing visual narratives
Abstract: Scene Perception and Event Comprehension Theory (SPECT) posits that understanding
picture stories depends upon a coordination of two processes: (1) integrating new information into the
current event model that is coherent with it (i.e., mapping) and (2) segmenting experiences into distinct
event models (i.e., shifting). In two experiments, we investigated competing hypotheses regarding
how viewers coordinate the mapping process of bridging inference generation and the shifting
process of event segmentation by manipulating the presence/absence of Bridging Action pictures
(i.e., creating coherence gaps) in wordless picture stories. The Computational Effort Hypothesis says
that experiencing a coherence gap prompts event segmentation and the additional computational
effort to generate bridging inferences. Thus, it predicted a positive relationship between event
segmentation and explanations when Bridging Actions were absent. Alternatively, the Coherence
Gap Resolution Hypothesis says that experiencing a coherence gap prompt generating a bridging
inference to close the gap, which obviates segmentation. Thus, it predicted a negative relationship
between event segmentation and the production of explanations. Replicating prior work, viewers
were more likely to segment and generate explanations when Bridging Action pictures were absent
than when they were present. Crucially, the relationship between explanations and segmentation was
negative when Bridging Action pictures were absent, consistent with the Coherence Gap Resolution
Hypothesis. Unexpectedly, the relationship was positive when Bridging Actions were present. The
results are consistent with SPECT’s assumption that mapping and shifting processes are coordinated,
but how they are coordinated depends upon the experience of a coherence gap.
Loading