Abstract: Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of anaphors on accessibility of their antecedents (referents) and the relation between the effects and advantage for first mentioned participants in processing of Chinese sentences containing anaphoric expression. The experimental results showed: (1) First mentioned participants were easier to be accessed than second mentioned participants. This advantage of accessibility for first mentioned participants is a common cognitive phenomenon; (2) Anaphors not only facilitated the activation level of their referents but also inhibited nonreferents in some degree, thus enhanced accessibility of their referents; (3) In processing sentences containing anaphoric expression the relation between the advantage of first mentioned participants and the accessibility of the referents was dynamic. If the first mentioned participant was a referent and the second mentioned participant was a nonreferent in an anaphoric expression, the advantage of accessibility of first mentioned participant was strengthened, otherwise, the advantage of first mentioned was nullified; (4) The experiments showed that at 550 ms delay after the pronoun, the facilitation effect of anaphors on their referents appeared, but the effect was not founded at 350 ms delay. So there was a time course of appearing facilitation effect. (5) The facilitation effects for the activation level of referents changed depending on properties of anaphoric expression. When the anaphor was a repeated name the facilitation effect was stronger and appeared earlier.

Key words: language comprehension, anaphor, anaphoric expression, referent, nonreferent