Syntactic Reanalysis Across the Adult Lifespan: Evidence From Eye Movements
Abstract
This study examines the influence of age-related cognitive decline on the time course of syntactic reanalysis in Dutch NP/S-coordination garden-path sentences using eye tracking. 110 native Dutch speakers (30-80 years) read ambiguous sentences and comma-disambiguated controls. Garden-path costs were strongest at the ambiguous noun and smaller at the disambiguating verb, with no spillover effects. To further investigate age-related variability, we related garden-path effects to individual differences in cognitive abilities. Principal Components Analysis identified two components reflecting working memory and cognitive flexibility. Together with reading experience and associative learning, we tested these predictors of garden-path costs. Working memory, reading experience and associative learning moderated early garden-path effects, consistent with efficient encoding and rapid updating upon encountering ambiguity. Cognitive flexibility emerged as the most consistent predictor of late garden-path costs, suggesting a role in flexibly managing competing parses and supporting syntactic reanalysis.