GETTING "CLUED" IN: THE USAGE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTEXT CLUES.

The usage of context clues to determine the meaning of target nonsense words (emphasized made-up words) was examined to determine the types and structure of context clues people use in reading. Specifically, participants were provided with sample sentences and were then asked to define a target nonsense word. Second, they reported a specific word from the sentence that was used as a context clue to help them define the emphasized nonsense word. These words were then analyzed to determine how context clues impacted interpretation of an unknown word by exploring the combination of reported words and nonsense words parts of speech (i.e., noun, verb, etc.). For noun target words, verb and adverb context clues were used most frequently and for verb context clues, noun context clues were used most frequently. These findings suggest the application of semantic bias in processing, or that the structure and meaning of the sentence predisposes readers to specific interpretations. However, for adjective context clues, noun context clues were used most frequently, utilizing the principle of right association (i.e., using the closest word to the unknown word in order to help discern meaning). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]