Verb complexity effects: Thematic role assignment

The aim of this project was to clarify the findings of Shapiro and Levine (1990) by exploring post-verb argument structure complexity effects. Three verb types, transitives, datives and obligatory three-place, were probed at four positions during an on-line sentence processing task that utilized cross-modal naming as the secondary task in a reaction time paradigm. No significant verb x probe interaction was found at any probe position with any of the three verb types. Two possible explanations are given for this pattern of results: (1) the choice of cross-modal naming as the secondary task; and, (2) the high variability of reaction times among subjects.