The Role of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in Between-Text Integration

This study examined the extent to which readers integrate information from related texts as a function of both top-down evaluation processes and bottom-up resonance. In Experiment 1, participants read and recalled ambiguous texts about events that were preceded by a descriptive text (primer) of the event. Participants' recall of the ambiguous texts was highly integrated in content and structure, including a heightened sensitivity to predicates shared between texts. Experiment 2 manipulated whether the primer or ambiguous text was read first and the degree of conceptual overlap between texts. Participants' accuracy in an inter-textual anaphor resolution task showed a top-down and a bottom-up influence in inter-textual integration.