On Experience-Driven Semantic Judgments: A Case Study on the Oneiric Reference Constraint

Abstract

Using the interpretation of pronouns in dream and belief reports as a test case, we show that semantic judgments can vary as a function of experience. We present findings from three studies where semantic judgments for pronoun interpretations were affected by a) repeated exposure, or b) the experimental task which elicited the judgments. Our findings stress the importance of converging evidence from multiple tasks and paradigms when testing and formulating theoretical hypotheses.