Comprehending verbal comprehension.

Discusses cognitive bases of verbal comprehension, emphasizing in particular the role in verbal comprehension of learning from context. A review of 3 alternative cognitive approaches to understanding verbal comprehension is provided: (1) the "bottom-up" or mechanistic approach, (2) the "top-down" or inference-driven approach, and (3) the knowledge-based approach. A developing theory of learning from context is described, and some empirical data supporting this theory are summarized. An attempt is made to relate these ideas to relevant earlier ones, describing a tentative componential framework for understanding verbal comprehension. It is concluded that understanding of verbal comprehension provides an important road to the study of what constitutes intelligent performance. (93 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)