Spoken or written texts are coherent sequences of sentences. Text comprehension is equivalent to the construction of multiple mental representations in working memory. It is based on an interaction between external text information and internal prior knowledge information stored in long-term memory. Mental representations include a text surface representation, a propositional representation, and a mental model. They are characterized by different forgetting rates. As speakers and authors omit information which can be easily completed by listeners and readers, text comprehension always includes inferences. Listening and reading comprehension use the same lexicon and the same syntax but qualitatively different text surface structures. Due to local and global coherence of texts, comprehension is also a process of mental coherence formation. Limitations of working memory require focused attention on the construction of topic-specific mental models which are carried along from sentence to sentence by a flow of consciousness. Speakers and authors can direct this process through topic information within the text surface.

This chapter describes the reflective-impulsive model (RIM) and elaborates those features that are functionally important for behavioral interventions. The RIM explains behavior as being controlled by two interacting systems, which each follow a distinct set of operating principles. The reflective system operates based on propositional representations and syllogistic reasoning and affects behavior via goal-driven decisions mediated via a process of intending, which activates goal-congruent behavioral schemata until the goal associated with the decision is reached. The impulsive system operates based on associative representations, with behavioral schemata serving as a pathway to behavior that is also modulated by the reflective system. Within the impulsive system, motivational orientations of approach-avoidance as well as homeostatic dysregulation modulate the accessibility of representations in the impulsive system and, thereby, its reactivity to stimuli. The impulsive system operates at a higher degree of automaticity compared to the reflective system but is, at the same time, constrained in its processing capabilities such as being unable to process negations. Interventions based on the RIM typically aim to change evaluative associations, to prevent deprivation-driven hyper-reactivity to stimuli, and to change approach/avoidance tendencies via computer-based training. Although there are several demonstrations of their effectiveness, there is still ongoing debate about the mediators and boundary conditions of these interventions.