ABSTRACT
We propose and evaluate two principles of premise integration in spatial reasoning, Relatum is Given and Given-New. According to Relatum is Given, integration is easier, if the middle term, which is introduced by the first premise, is the relatum (prepositional object) of the second premise. According to Given-New, integration is easier, if the middle term is mentioned before the end term in the second premise. With canonical premises, in which the grammatical subject is mentioned first, the two principles conflict with one another. This conflict was resolved by using topicalized premises, i.e., by preposing the prepositional phrase. Reading times for the second premise confirmed that premise integration is easiest when a given relatum is preposed, but most difficult when a new relatum is preposed. Integrating canonical premises is of intermediate difficulty.
