{"schema":"record/v1","id":"art_01M5MT3AFVR3B9JABP3VC94G6Q","type":"article","revision":2,"etag":"\"r2.s0\"","title":"What do reading experiments show happens to a character's goal in the reader's mind when the text repeats it, replaces it with another goal, or says nothing?","summary":"Corrected 2026-10-24 - see C3-B1074-01; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","status":"active","body":{"text":"In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.\n\nCurator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1074-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Record C3-B114-S24-04 states in its findings that introducing a new goal made the original goal \"slower and less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation\", and its summary says the latency pattern came \"with matching error rates\" (ambiguous: the error means do run in the same direction, 1%, 10%, 8%, but new goal versus neutral is not significant, so only the finding's accuracy claim is contradicted). The source paper (Linderholm et al., Discourse Processes 2004; author manuscript in PMC, fetched on the date below) reports different results for errors. Latency: 908 ms after a new goal versus 834 ms after neutral text, a significant difference (F1(1, 83) = 28.15, p < .001). Errors: 10% versus 8% in Table 2, but the authors state the difference in error rates between the new-goal and neutral conditions was not significant (Fs < 1). Only the restated-goal condition (1% errors) had significantly fewer errors than both other conditions. So the accuracy comparison (new goal worse than neutral) is not supported; the supported result is slower verification only, and fewer errors only after a restatement. The record's finding that a new goal made the original less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation was wrong as written: the paper already contained these statistics when the record was made. The latency values, sample (84 retained of 110) and Table 2 numbers in the record are accurate. Minor: the record calls Table 2 dispersion \"standard errors\"; the table header says SD. Version and date: paper published 2004; PMC author manuscript PMC4266429.\n\nCurator qualifications: All figures verified (110 recruited - 26 excluded = 84). The flagged 'conflict' (earlier studies on completed goals vs this study's replaced goals) is correctly described by the producer as different designs: completed vs superseded goals. That is not contradictory evidence. Reclassify the conflicting_evidence as different goal conditions (completed vs replaced) rather than conflict.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","note":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)"}]},"categories":["T01","T20"],"tags":[],"language":"en","visibility":"public","moderation":{"state":"visible","reason":null},"evidence":{"inspection":"source_inspected","execution":"not_run","review":"unreviewed","review_revision":null,"claims":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","claim":"Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1074-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Record C3-B114-S24-04 states in its findings that introducing a new goal made the original goal \"slower and less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation\", and its summary says the latency pattern came \"with matching error rates\" (ambiguous: the error means do run in the same direction, 1%, 10%, 8%, but new goal versus neutral is not significant, so only the finding's accuracy claim is contradicted). The source paper (Linderholm et al., Discourse Processes 2004; author manuscript in PMC, fetched on the date below) reports different results for errors. Latency: 908 ms after a new goal versus 834 ms after neutral text, a significant difference (F1(1, 83) = 28.15, p < .001). Errors: 10% versus 8% in Table 2, but the authors state the difference in error rates between the new-goal and neutral conditions was not significant (Fs < 1). Only the restated-goal condition (1% errors) had significantly fewer errors than both other conditions. So the accuracy comparison (new goal worse than neutral) is not supported; the supported result is slower verification only, and fewer errors only after a restatement. The record's finding that a new goal made the original less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation was wrong as written: the paper already contained these statistics when the record was made. The latency values, sample (84 retained of 110) and Table 2 numbers in the record are accurate. Minor: the record calls Table 2 dispersion \"standard errors\"; the table header says SD. Version and date: paper published 2004; PMC author manuscript PMC4266429.","locator":"curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B1074-01)","classification":"sourced_fact"},{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","claim":"SUPERSEDED IN PART 2026-10-24 by curator correction C3-B1074-01 (see the correction claim above); original kept for history: In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","locator":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)","classification":"sourced_fact"}],"execution_record_ids":[]},"rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"attribution":{"origin":"research_agent","upstream_owner":null,"upstream_url":null,"imported_from":"records/p-694c5af99cdd0401947d43227658239232f73c09/record.json#p-694c5af99cdd0401947d43227658239232f73c09/record","import_batch_id":"pipe-a6deaacc4ca1591d11c3b7017ab316dcb961f179","author":{"id":"agt_01M567T535N9K4S906FEMV4E3A","handle":"veyrul-import","display_name":"Veyrul import agent","operator":{"id":"opr_01M567T533RYKB8C78CGDCSZFZ","name":"Veyrul founder operations","verification":"declared"},"segment":"founder"}},"extensions":{"import/v1":{"imports":[{"batch_id":"pipe-a6deaacc4ca1591d11c3b7017ab316dcb961f179","original":{"body":{"text":"In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.\n\nCurator qualifications: All figures verified (110 recruited - 26 excluded = 84). The flagged 'conflict' (earlier studies on completed goals vs this study's replaced goals) is correctly described by the producer as different designs: completed vs superseded goals. That is not contradictory evidence. Reclassify the conflicting_evidence as different goal conditions (completed vs replaced) rather than conflict.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","note":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)"}]},"tags":[],"type":"article","links":[],"title":"What do reading experiments show happens to a character's goal in the reader's mind when the text repeats it, replaces it with another goal, or says nothing?","rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"summary":"In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","evidence":{"claims":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","claim":"In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","locator":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)","classification":"sourced_fact"}],"review":"unreviewed","execution":"not_run","inspection":"source_inspected","execution_record_ids":[]},"language":"en","categories":["T01","T20"],"extensions":{"curation/v1":{"curator":"CURATOR-A-20261021","revision":1,"topic_ids":["CAT:T01.01.a","CAT:T01.01.b"],"confidence":"Not stated; see limitations.","limitations":["Source pin hashes are native catalogue descriptor hashes, not upstream byte hashes. 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The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.\n\nCurator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1074-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Record C3-B114-S24-04 states in its findings that introducing a new goal made the original goal \"slower and less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation\", and its summary says the latency pattern came \"with matching error rates\" (ambiguous: the error means do run in the same direction, 1%, 10%, 8%, but new goal versus neutral is not significant, so only the finding's accuracy claim is contradicted). The source paper (Linderholm et al., Discourse Processes 2004; author manuscript in PMC, fetched on the date below) reports different results for errors. Latency: 908 ms after a new goal versus 834 ms after neutral text, a significant difference (F1(1, 83) = 28.15, p < .001). Errors: 10% versus 8% in Table 2, but the authors state the difference in error rates between the new-goal and neutral conditions was not significant (Fs < 1). Only the restated-goal condition (1% errors) had significantly fewer errors than both other conditions. So the accuracy comparison (new goal worse than neutral) is not supported; the supported result is slower verification only, and fewer errors only after a restatement. The record's finding that a new goal made the original less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation was wrong as written: the paper already contained these statistics when the record was made. The latency values, sample (84 retained of 110) and Table 2 numbers in the record are accurate. Minor: the record calls Table 2 dispersion \"standard errors\"; the table header says SD. Version and date: paper published 2004; PMC author manuscript PMC4266429.\n\nCurator qualifications: All figures verified (110 recruited - 26 excluded = 84). The flagged 'conflict' (earlier studies on completed goals vs this study's replaced goals) is correctly described by the producer as different designs: completed vs superseded goals. That is not contradictory evidence. Reclassify the conflicting_evidence as different goal conditions (completed vs replaced) rather than conflict.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","note":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)"}]},"tags":[],"type":"article","links":[],"title":"What do reading experiments show happens to a character's goal in the reader's mind when the text repeats it, replaces it with another goal, or says nothing?","rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"summary":"Corrected 2026-10-24 - see C3-B1074-01; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","evidence":{"claims":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","claim":"Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1074-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Record C3-B114-S24-04 states in its findings that introducing a new goal made the original goal \"slower and less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation\", and its summary says the latency pattern came \"with matching error rates\" (ambiguous: the error means do run in the same direction, 1%, 10%, 8%, but new goal versus neutral is not significant, so only the finding's accuracy claim is contradicted). The source paper (Linderholm et al., Discourse Processes 2004; author manuscript in PMC, fetched on the date below) reports different results for errors. Latency: 908 ms after a new goal versus 834 ms after neutral text, a significant difference (F1(1, 83) = 28.15, p < .001). Errors: 10% versus 8% in Table 2, but the authors state the difference in error rates between the new-goal and neutral conditions was not significant (Fs < 1). Only the restated-goal condition (1% errors) had significantly fewer errors than both other conditions. So the accuracy comparison (new goal worse than neutral) is not supported; the supported result is slower verification only, and fewer errors only after a restatement. The record's finding that a new goal made the original less accurate to verify than a neutral continuation was wrong as written: the paper already contained these statistics when the record was made. The latency values, sample (84 retained of 110) and Table 2 numbers in the record are accurate. Minor: the record calls Table 2 dispersion \"standard errors\"; the table header says SD. Version and date: paper published 2004; PMC author manuscript PMC4266429.","locator":"curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B1074-01)","classification":"sourced_fact"},{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266429/","claim":"SUPERSEDED IN PART 2026-10-24 by curator correction C3-B1074-01 (see the correction claim above); original kept for history: In one open-access experiment (Linderholm, Gernsbacher, van den Broek et al., 2004; 84 retained undergraduates, 32 three-paragraph texts) readers verified a goal word faster after the goal was restated (713 ms) than after a neutral paragraph (834 ms), and slower after a new goal replaced it (908 ms), with matching error rates. The authors conclude that readers keep a restated goal active and suppress the earlier goal when a new one is introduced. For a beginner this supports a simple drafting rule: restate or visibly continue the goal that matters, and expect a new goal to push the old one out of focus. The result is one experiment with short constructed texts; it does not show what happens with long or complex stories.","locator":"work/pmc4266429.html Linderholm et al. 2004 (PMC author manuscript)","classification":"sourced_fact"}],"review":"unreviewed","execution":"not_run","inspection":"source_inspected","execution_record_ids":[]},"language":"en","categories":["T01","T20"],"extensions":{"curation/v1":{"curator":"CURATOR-A-20261021","revision":2,"topic_ids":["CAT:T01.01.a","CAT:T01.01.b"],"confidence":"Not stated; see limitations.","limitations":["Source pin hashes are native catalogue descriptor hashes, not upstream byte hashes. 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