Effects of age of acquisition and priming on picture naming

Four experiments examined the interaction of age of acquisition (AoA) and priming on picture naming. Experiment 1 found that initial-letter priming and AoA significantly affected picture-naming latencies, but there was no interaction between them. Experiment 2 found that initial-phoneme priming and AoA significantly affected picture-naming latencies, but again there was no interaction. Experiment 3 repeated Barry, Hirsh, Johnston, and Williams's (2001) priming study using a very short interval between prime and target. Experiment 3 replicated previous findings of a significant interaction between priming and AoA. Experiment 4 repeated this investigation with a procedure that did not require participants to articulate the prime. Once again, there were significant effects of priming, AoA, and the interaction between them. The implications of these findings in relation to accounts of AoA and its locus of effect are discussed.     

Transfer of processing in repetition priming: some inappropriate findings.

Transfer effects in repetition priming were found with both picture and word naming, but varied with the type of prime list. Unmixed lists of word or picture primes produced equivalent intra-modal and cross-modal repetition priming in both picture-naming (Experiment 1) and word-naming (Experiment 5) tasks. However, mixing word and picture primes resulted in greater intra-modal than cross-modal priming for both picture-naming (Experiment 2) and word-naming (Experiment 6) tasks. This mixed-list difference between intra-modal and cross-modal priming was reduced by blocking prime types at input (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that differences in priming as a function of prime stimulus format should be cautiously interpreted when mixed prime lists are used.     

Age of acquisition and repetition priming effects on picture naming of children who do and do not stutter

The effects of age of acquisition and repetition priming on picture naming latencies and errors were studied in 22 children who stutter (CWS) and 22 children who do not stutter (CWNS) between the ages of 3;1 and 5;7. Children participated in a computerized picture naming task where they named pictures of both early and late acquired (AoA) words in two consecutive stages. Findings revealed that all children's picture naming latencies and errors were reduced following repetition priming and in response to early AoA words relative to late AoA words. AoA and repetition priming effects were similar for children in both talker groups, with one exception. Namely, CWS benefitted significantly more, in terms of error reduction, than CWNS from repetition priming for late AoA words. In addition, CWNS exhibited a significant, positive association between linguistic speed and measures of vocabulary, but CWS did not. These findings were taken to suggest that the (a) semantic-phonological connections of CWS may not be as strong as those of CWNS, and (b) existing lexical measures may not be sensitive enough to differentiate CWS from CWNS in lexically related aspects of language production. Educational objectives: After reading this article, the learner will be able to: (a) describe the effects of repetition priming and age of word acquisition in speech production; (b) summarize the performance similarities and differences of children who stutter and children who do not stutter on a computerized picture naming task; and (c) compare the results of the present study with previous work in this area.     

启动刺激含有多个靶子条件下的负启动效应

采用数字命名任务,在通常的负启动范式基础上增加启动刺激靶子数目．进行了两个实验。实验一发现,当启动刺激靶子个数为1个和2个时。出现负启动效应;当启动刺激靶子个数为3个和4个时。则不出现负启动效应。这提示靶子所获注意资源数量的作用。实验二发现．当启动刺激有2个和3个靶子时．如果未被选择来反应的靶子成为探测刺激的靶子,其反应时与控制组无显著差异。即不出现负启动。这表明在启动刺激中未被选择来反应的靶子与干扰项所受到的加工是有差别的。     

Identity primes produce facilitation in a colour naming task

Five experiments examined associative or identity priming effects in a colour-naming task with colour-neutral words. In Experiment 1, subjects instructed to read the prime silently showed no associative priming effect but a colour-naming facilitation with identity priming. In Experiment 2, the typical associative priming interference in colour naming was demonstrated in subjects recalling the prime word, but not in subjects reading the prime silently, whereas associative primes facilitated word naming regardless of the prime response requirement. The remaining studies investigated the colour-naming facilitation observed with identity primes. Experiment 3 showed no effects on the facilitation of colour naming from varying the letter case of a silently read prime. Experiment 4 showed facilitation when subjects recalled the prime, and a target frequency effect, with faster colour-naming latencies for high- and medium- than low-frequency targets. In Experiment 5, there was no facilitation for naming the colour of target words paired with non-word primes differing in their initial letter from the target. Taken together, the results suggest that the facilitation of colour naming following identical primes reflects faster target word recognition, whereas the associative priming interference reflects an attentional effect.     

Age of acquisition, not word frequency affects object recognition: evidence from the effects of visual degradation

Four experiments examined how age of acquisition (AoA) and word frequency (WF) interact with manipulations of image quality in a picture-naming task. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effect of overlaying the to-be-named picture with irrelevant contours. The magnitude of the AoA effect increased when the contours were added (Experiment 1), but the effect of WF remained constant (Experiment 2). Experiments 3 and 4 examined the effects of reducing the contrast of the contours defining the to-be-named picture. Both the effects of AoA (Experiment 3) and WF (Experiment 4) remained constant in the face of contrast reduction. These results provide an empirical dissociation of the effects of AoA and WF. The results are consistent with the idea that both AoA and the addition of irrelevant contours affect the efficiency of object recognition, but WF affects later processes involved in retrieval of object names. The theoretical implications of these findings in relation to accounts of AoA and frequency and their functional localisation in the lexical system are discussed.     

句法结构和动词重复对汉语句子口语产生中句法启动效应的影响

研究中采用启动范式和图片描述任务, 利用句法选择比率和句子产生潜伏期的两个指标, 考察了启动句句法结构、动词是否相同和延时对汉语口语句子产生中句法启动效应的影响。结果发现在选择比率上, 句法结构产生的启动效应随延时变化保持稳定, 由启动句和目标句动词相同导致的启动效应的提高量(词汇增强效应)快速衰退, 首次为句子产生过程的句法选择阶段和计划阶段提供了证据。在句子产生潜伏期上, 仅发现启动句和目标句句法结构相同时缩短了句子产生潜伏期, 这可能是由于启动句句法结构激活水平的提高, 使得说话者在目标句产生的句法计划和选择阶段都更快引起的。选择阶段的加工影响句法选择比率, 而选择阶段和计划阶段共同影响了句子产生的潜伏期, 实验结果支持了两阶段竞争理论的观点。     

Masked syllable priming of English nouns.

This study investigates the role of sublexical units in the phonological encoding of English single-word production in a word-naming task (Experiment 1) and a picture-naming task (Experiment 2). Targets corresponded to bisyllabic English nouns with word-initial stress which varied on the structure of their first syllable: CV (e.g., pi.lot), CVC (e.g., pic.nic), or CV[C] (e. g., pi[ll]ow).1 Targets were preceded by a visually masked prime that either matched their first syllable (e.g., pi%%% - pi.lot) or that was one segment longer (e.g., pil%% - pi.lot) or shorter (e.g., pi%%%% - pic.nic) than the first syllable. Response times were compared to a neutral control condition (e.g., %&$%% - pi.lot) to measure the priming effects (either facilitation or inhibition). Results showed significant facilitation for both the CV and the CVC conditions. However, contrary to previous findings, there was no interaction between the syllabic structure of the prime and the target.     

汉语听觉阈下启动效应：来自听觉掩蔽启动范式的证据

使用汉语双字词为实验材料,采用听觉掩蔽启动范式,通过3个实验考察汉语听觉阈下启动效应。结果发现,真词的听觉阈下重复启动效应显著,并且听觉阈下重复启动效应不受启动、目标发音者性别一致性的影响。但真词的阈下语音、语素和语义启动效应及假词的阈下重复和首字启动效应都不显著。这些结果说明,听觉通道阈下呈现的汉语双字词的词汇水平信息可以得到无意识加工。汉语双字词的听觉阈下启动效应可能是基于启动词整词表征的无意识激活。     

Does sunshine prime loyal? Affective priming in the naming task

Recent work has found an affective priming effect using the naming task: In pronouncing target words, pronunciation latencies were consistently shorter when the target (e.g., loyal) was preceded by an evaluatively congruent (e.g., sunshine) rather than incongruent prime word (e.g, rain). Using the naming task, no affective priming was found in the present studies irrespective of prime-set size and target-set size (Experiment 1), irrespective of stimulus-onset asynchrony (Experiment 2), and even when a nearly exact replication of previous work that demonstrated the effect was conducted (Experiment 3). Finally, bilingual German/English speakers exhibited strong associative priming, but no affective priming, in both the English as well as the German language (Experiment 4). The results show that priming for evaluatively related words is not a general finding.     

Orientation invariance in visual object priming depends on prime—target asynchrony

Two experiments are reported in which orientation effects on visual object recognition latency were examined. In Experiment 1, we assessed picture-naming performance as a function of image-plane stimulus orientation and found increasing response times with increased misorientation of the stimulus. In Experiment 2, we examined the repetition priming effect on the identification of upright targets as a function of prime orientation. With time delays of 100, 200, or 500 msec between the onset of the prime and that of the target (i.e., stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA]), the magnitude of the priming effect decreased with increasing misorientation of the prime. These results contrast with the orientationinvariant priming effects reported in some previous repetition priming studies. These investigations all used relatively long prime—target SOAs. Confirming the crucial role of the latter variable, Experiment 2 shows that the magnitude of the repetition priming effect is invariant across prime orientations with an SOA of 1,000 msec. The possible implications of the present observations with respect to the issue of orientation invariance versus dependency of the visual object recognition process are discussed.     

Orientation invariance in visual object priming depends on prime-target asynchrony

Two experiments are reported in which orientation effects on visual object recognition latency were examined. In Experiment 1, we assessed picture-naming performance as a function of image-plane stimulus orientation and found increasing response times with increased misorientation of the stimulus. In Experiment 2, we examined the repetition priming effect on the identification of upright targets as a function of prime orientation. With time delays of 100, 200, or 500 msec between the onset of the prime and that of the target (i.e., stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA]), the magnitude of the priming effect decreased with increasing misorientation of the prime. These results contrast with the orientation-invariant priming effects reported in some previous repetition priming studies. These investigations all used relatively long prime-target SOAs. Confirming the crucial role of the latter variable, Experiment 2 shows that the magnitude of the repetition priming effect is invariant across prime orientations with an SOA of 1,000 msec. The possible implications of the present observations with respect to the issue of orientation invariance versus dependency of the visual object recognition processare discussed.     

Effect of voice characteristics on the attended and unattended processing of two concurrent messages

Three experiments using dichotic listening measured the priming effect produced on the detection of a semantically defined target word in an attended list of words by a lexically identical word presented to the opposite ear with an attenuation of 12 dB. Experiment 1 embedded the prime in unattended continuous speech and found a 21 ms priming effect, but only when the voices of the two messages had different pitch ranges. Experiment 2 emphasised and generalised the priming effect to a more natural situation using voices differing both in pitch and timbre. This priming effect did not vary with word frequency. In Experiment 3 the prime was part of a list of isolated words played to the unattended ear. It found a 94 ms priming effect when there was no pitch-range difference between the two messages. This priming effect was larger for high-frequency words than for low. These results extend recent findings by Rivenez, Darwin, and Guillaume (2006) and demonstrate the importance of factors that influence perceptual organisation in determining the extent to which unattended messages can be processed.     

Age of acquisition persists as the main factor in picture naming when cumulative word frequency and frequency trajectory are controlled

The aim of this study was to address the effect of objective age of acquisition (AoA) on picture-naming latencies when different measures of frequency (cumulative and adult word frequency) and frequency trajectory are taken into account. A total of 80 Spanish participants named a set of 178 pictures. Several multiple regression analyses assessed the influence of AoA, word frequency, frequency trajectory, object familiarity, name agreement, image agreement, image variability, name length, and orthographic neighbourhood density on naming times. The results revealed that AoA is the main predictor of picture-naming times. Cumulative frequency and adult word frequency (written or spoken) appeared as important factors in picture naming, but frequency trajectory and object familiarity did not. Other significant variables were image agreement, image variability, and neighbourhood density. These results (a) provide additional evidence of the predictive power of AoA in naming times independent of word-frequency and (b) suggest that image variability and neighbourhood density should also be taken into account in models of lexical production.     

Capacity demands of automatic processes in semantic priming

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel In three experiments, we examined the effects of prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and the proportion of related primes and targets (relatedness proportion, or RP) on semantic priming when the prime was either named or was searched for a specific letter. In Experiment 1, with an RP of. 50, priming occurred at SOAs of 240 and 840 msec when the prime was named, but no priming was found at either SOA when the prime was searched for a letter. In Experiment 2 the RP was either. 20 or. 80, and the SOA was set at 1, 700 msec; priming again was found in both conditions when the prime was named, but only in the RP.80 condition when a letter search task was performed on the prime. In Experiment 3, both the proportion of related trials and SOA were varied; as in the previous experiments, no priming effects were found with the letter search task for either SOA in the RP.20 condition, but the priming effect was reinstated in the RP.80 condition. These results are discussed with respect to how limited capacity resources are allocated and how they influence semantic priming effects.     

Age of acquisition persists as the main factor in picture naming when cumulative word frequency and frequency trajectory are controlled

The aim of this study was to address the effect of objective age of acquisition (AoA) on picture-naming latencies when different measures of frequency (cumulative and adult word frequency) and frequency trajectory are taken into account. A total of 80 Spanish participants named a set of 178 pictures. Several multiple regression analyses assessed the influence of AoA, word frequency, frequency trajectory, object familiarity, name agreement, image agreement, image variability, name length, and orthographic neighbourhood density on naming times. The results revealed that AoA is the main predictor of picture-naming times. Cumulative frequency and adult word frequency (written or spoken) appeared as important factors in picture naming, but frequency trajectory and object familiarity did not. Other significant variables were image agreement, image variability, and neighbourhood density. These results (a) provide additional evidence of the predictive power of AoA in naming times independent of word-frequency and (b) suggest that image variability and neighbourhood density should also be taken into account in models of lexical production.     

Priming of emotion recognition

Four experiments investigated priming of emotion recognition using a range of emotional stimuli, including facial expressions, words, pictures, and nonverbal sounds. In each experiment, a prime-target paradigm was used with related, neutral, and unrelated pairs. In Experiment 1, facial expression primes preceded word targets in an emotion classification task. A pattern of priming of emotional word targets by related primes with no inhibition of unrelated primes was found. Experiment 2 reversed these primes and targets and found the same pattern of results, demonstrating bidirectional priming between facial expressions and words. Experiment 2 also found priming of facial expression targets by picture primes. Experiment 3 demonstrated that priming occurs not just between pairs of stimuli that have a high co-occurrence in the environment (for example, nonverbal sounds and facial expressions), but with stimuli that co-occur less frequently and are linked mainly by their emotional category (for example, nonverbal sounds and printed words). This shows the importance of the prime and target sharing a common emotional category, rather than their previous co-occurrence. Experiment 4 extended the findings by showing that there are category-based effects as well as valence effects in emotional priming, supporting a categorical view of emotion recognition.     

重复启动对时序知觉的影响

在时序判断任务中,重复启动导致被试把启动的靶刺激知觉为先出现的。知觉加工增强观和决策反应偏向观都试图解释其机制,但仍存在争议。本研究采用图形材料,通过三个实验系统考察了重复启动对时序知觉的影响。实验结果显示,启动和指导语都具有显著效应。这说明,重复启动对时序知觉的影响涉及知觉加工和决策水平两个方面。实验还首次发现,在启动的靶刺激先出现时发生了重复启动效应的反转。最后,研究提出了双加工表征匹配调节假说,用以综合解释目前的研究结果     

Rapid naming is affected by association but not by syntax

Three experiments are reported that focused on the grammatical and associative relationship between a single-word context and a to-be-named target in the Serbo-Croatian language. Unlike in studies using the English language, word class need not be violated in order to obtain grammatical incongruency: all word pairs, therefore, can be semantically plausible. Experiment 1 contrasted naming with lexical decision using associative and grammatical priming, a replication of Seidenberg, Waters, Sanders, and Langer’s (1984) study. With associative priming, both lexical decision and naming were facilitated significantly, but with grammatical priming, only lexical decision was affected significantly. Heeding observations of West and Stanovich (1986), in Experiment 2 we used stimuli known to produce a robust grammatical congruency effect on lexical decision (130 msec) and a procedure designed to slow naming latencies. Again, no grammatical congruency effect for naming was obtained. Finally, because Experiment 1, which used a row of Xs as the neutral context, showed an associative priming effect on naming pseudowords, Experiment 3 used a neutral context that was linguistic. An associative priming effect was found for words but not for pseudowords. Results were discussed in terms of pre- and postlexical loci of contextual effects.