Inferences in Discourse, Psychology of [chapter]

W. Vonk, L.G.M. Noordman
2001 International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences  
An inference is defined as the information that is not expressed explicitly by the text but is derived on the basis of the understander's knowledge and is encoded in the mental representation of the text. Inferencing is considered as a central component in discourse understanding. Experimental methods to detect inferences, established findings, and some developments are reviewed. Attention is paid to the relation between inference processes and the brain.
doi:10.1016/b0-08-043076-7/01533-3 fatcat:obxkmrh5yffvlfgjxwhsofa7i4