Memory consequences of predictive language processing

Joost Rommers

University of Aberdeen, School of Psychology

Expectations may hold the key to explaining the speed of language processing. However, it is unclear whether expectations ultimately have downstream consequences for what readers retain in memory. I will present EEG work that probed the fate in memory of unexpected and expected words, as well as of words previously expected but never presented. Patterns of repetition effects and recognition judgments reveal that expectations benefit memory for unexpected input, but also result in false memories of expected input that was not actually presented. Expectations can act like a double-edged sword, with consequences not only for rapid processing but also for memory.