Abstract
In previous research comparing the Context-driven Model with the Default Model
of meaning processing, the former was preferred. It predicts that contexts play an exclusively decisive role in meaning
processing, whereas the latter holds that the inference of literal meaning generally goes through, unless it is subsequently
defaulted or cancelled by the context it is associated with. The Standardization Model, which we added to our
experiments, highlights that implicatures are figured out from standardized forms typically based on the mutual background belief
and speaker’s intention. We tested whether Chinese people’s processing of the gradable adjective scale <hot, burning>
conformed more to the Context-driven Model, the Default Model, or the Standardization
Model. The results demonstrated that the Standardization Model is the most acceptable among the
three. The findings of this study, which is the first study using the experimental paradigm on Chinese gradable adjectives,
highlighted a need for further studies to investigate the same questions with different languages and cultures.