Hierarchical relations guide memory retrieval in sentence comprehension: Evidence from a local anaphor in Turkish

Real-time sentence comprehension relies on memory resources to establish syntactic dependencies. Such dependency formation is subject to hierarchical constraints on interpretation. However, it remains an open question how hierarchical information is represented and used in working memory. Here we asked whether hierarchical relations between noun phrases as in x c-commands y (Reinhart, 1976) constrain antecedent retrieval for a local anaphor. We measured the real-time reactivation of hierarchically available target antecedents and unavailable distractors in processing the Turkish reciprocal birbirleri via three visual world studies. Our design deconfounded hierarchical relational information between noun phrases from other structural information (clause-mateness, case, subjecthood) and linear order/recency. Experiment 1 compared the reactivation of hierarchically available subjects and clause-mate, similarly case-marked, hierarchically unavailable distractors. Subjects were rapidly distinguished from distractors within the reciprocal window, irrespective of their linear order. Experiment 2 revealed that hierarchically available indirect objects showed a similar advantage at retrieval. Experiment 3 was a pre-registered, high-powered replication of this result. Overall, we found that hierarchical relations between noun phrases within a single clause rapidly determine antecedent availability in retrieval. Our findings suggest that either linguistic representations encode hierarchically informed features targeted by retrieval cues, or that hierarchical information shapes the organization of linguistic representations in memory. • Three visual world studies examined antecedent retrieval for the Turkish reciprocal. • Stimuli disentangled syntactic hierarchical relations from clause, case and subjecthood, and linear order. • Hierarchically available targets were rapidly distinguished from distractors. • There was limited evidence for interference from distractors. • Hierarchical relations between NPs determine their availability in memory.