For the following pair, select which sentence is EASIER to process, according to memory-based explanations.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks us to compare processing ease for two sentences using memory-based explanations. 
Option A: 'A stranger who loved the actress caught their attention.' In this structure, the relative clause 'who loved the actress' centers on the stranger as the subject of the verb 'loved.' This keeps a clear, intact agent-predicate relationship within the relative clause and presents a straightforward, easily retrievable sequence: stranger (subject) did loving (action) toward the actress. This aligns well with memory-based expectations that simpler, more canonical subject-verb relationships are easier to access and integrate in real time. 
Option B: 'A stranger who the actress loved caught their attention.' Here, the relative clause has the actress as the agent and the stranger as the object of 'loved' within the relative clause: 'the actress loved [the stranger].' This introduces a more complex dependency pattern, because the reader must hold the actress as the agent and then link the object back to 'a stranger' later in the sentence. Memory-based processing tends to handle agent-first, ditransitive-like structures more readily; reversing that order within the relative clause can increase working memory load and disrupt the smooth retrieval of who did the loving. 
In addition, the pronoun 'their' remains neutral, but the more cluttered internal structure in Option B makes it harder to parse quickly, as the listener must maintain a more distant relation between the actor (the actress) and the object (the stranger) across the clause boundary. 
Therefore, from a memory-based processing perspective, the sentence in Option A is typically easier to process because it preserves a straightforward agent-predicate relation within the relative clause, reducing memory retrieval demands. 
Option C (if considered) would not apply here since only two choices are provided, but for completeness: sentences that place the subject of the embedded clause before the verb and keep subject-verb alignment tend to be favored by memory-based processing over those that shift focus to the embedded object's agent, which is exactly what Option B does. 
To summarize the contrasts: Option A offers a simpler internal structure with a direct subject-verb link in the relative clause; Option B imposes a more complex dependency by presenting the actress as the agent within the relative clause, making it harder to retrieve the correct thematic roles from memory. 
Thus, the reasoning points toward Option A as the easier-to-process sentence under memory-based explanations.

For the following pair, select which sentence is EASIER to process, according to memory-based explanations.

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