Children parse sentences word-by-word, which can lead to interpretation
errors when initial misanalyses conflict with later-arriving evidence. Such
challenges have been attributed to immature cognitive-control, though it
remains unclear how exactly they are linked. We manipulated
cognitive-control engagement via interleaved Stroop trials
(congruent/incongruent) before Sentence trials (Exp1: early-arriving verbs,
Exp2: later arriving verbs). We found that Incongruent Stroops caused
children to more readily interpret sentences according to information
gleaned from the verbs, regardless of whether verbs were prediction or
revision cues. This suggests that cognitive-control fulfills the very
general function of increasing reliance on reliable parsing cues like
verb-specific biases.