Cognición y compresión. Una aproximación histórica y crítica al trabajo investigativo de Rolf Zwaan

Without any doubt, for a researcher in the area of discourse comprehension, it is essential to know the disciplines underlying a theoretical model under study, the cognitive approach to which it adheres, and of course, the originality of its postulates. From this standpoint, in this article, we describe and critically analyze the work of Rolf Zwaan in the area of discourse comprehension, stating, in the first place, that research in the area of language processing is, primarily, interdisciplinary and cumulative. In this sense, we argue that a fundamental step in approaching any model of discourse comprehension or any research work in the area involves finding out the historical and scientific context in which it has emerged. It implies having an idea of the way in which research in the area of discourse comprehension and the cognitive sciences has developed. To carry out this study, we have selected two scientific proposals, considered representative of Rolf Zwaan's last decade research work (1998, 2004). In accordance to what we have already stated, the article initially describes the evolution of the discourse comprehension research field and relates it with research and new postulates emanated from the cognitive sciences.