Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 2018, 8, 430-446 http://www.scirp.org/journal/jbbs ISSN Online: 2160-5874 ISSN Print: 2160-5866 Heuristics in Language Comprehension Veena D. Dwivedi 1,2* , Kaitlin E. Goertz 3 , Janahan Selvanayagam 2 1 Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada 2 Centre for Neuroscience, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada 3 Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada Abstract We used a sentence-picture matching task to demonstrate that heuristics can influence language comprehension. Interpretation of quantifier scope am- biguous sentences such as Every kid climbed a tree was investigated. Such sentences are ambiguous with respect to the number of trees inferred; either several trees were climbed or just one. The availability of the NOUN VERB NOUN (N-V-N) heuristic, e.g., KID CLIMB TREE, should contribute to the inter- pretation of how many trees were climbed. Specifically, we hypothesized that number choices for these stimuli would be predicted by choices previously made to corresponding (full) sentences. 45 participants were instructed to treat N-V-N triplets such as KID CLIMB TREE as telegrams and select a picture, regarding the quantity (“several” vs. “one”) associated with tree. Results con- firmed that plural responses to quantifier scope ambiguous sentences signifi- cantly predict increased plural judgments in the picture-matching task. This result provides empirical evidence that the N-V-N heuristic, via conceptual event knowledge, can influence sentence interpretation. Furthermore, event knowledge must include the quantity of participants in the event (especially in terms of “several” vs. “one”). These findings are consistent with our model of language comprehension functioning as “Heuristic first, algorithmic second.” Furthermore, results are consistent with judgment and decision making in other cognitive domains. Keywords Conceptual Event Knowledge, Language, Quantifier Scope, Scripts, Heuristics 1. Introduction We can interpret “DOG BITE MAN” into a particular scene or context, and fur- thermore, this context would be easier to understand than “MAN BITE DOG”. How to cite this paper: Dwivedi, V.D., Goertz, K.E. and Selvanayagam, J. (2018) Heuristics in Language Comprehension. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 8, 430-446. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbbs.2018.87027 Received: May 25, 2018 Accepted: July 9, 2018 Published: July 12, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access DOI: 10.4236/jbbs.2018.87027 Jul. 12, 2018 430 Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science