CAUSAL INFERENCES DURING THE READING OF EXPOSITORY TEXTS

Five experiments are reported on backwards causal inferences, which are signaled by the conjunction because. These inferences serve to justify the causal relation expressed by the sentence. Although the inferences are required for a good understanding of the causal relation, they are not made during reading, as is indicated by reading and verification times in Experiments 1 and 2, and judgments in Experiment 3. However, Experiments 4 and 5 show that these inferences are made during reading if they are relevant to the purpose of reading. © 1992.