Asymmetries in the processing of emotionally valenced words

Earlier research has shown a valence dependent encoding asymmetry of emotional words (e.g., Pratto & John, 1991; White, 1996; Stenberg, Wiking & Dahl, 1998). To further study this asymmetry, two word detection experiments were performed based on the following hypothesis: when there is a more thoroughly processing of the valence, in this case a valence categorisation, there will be, in a subsequent task, prolonged latencies for negative words, compared to positive words. The result gave significantly prolonged response latencies for negative words compared to positive ones in the subsequent detection task when using an affective orienting task, something not found using a non-affective orienting task. The results support the Mobilization-Minimization hypothesis (Taylor, 1991), according to which negative events and stimuli occupy more cognitive resources, but with some limitation: the affective asymmetry, with prolonged latencies for negative words, occurs only when there is a deepened encoding of the affective component of the words.     

Proficiency in a second language influences the processing of number words

We evaluated whether proficiency in a second language (L2) influenced the processing of numerical information. In Experiment 1, two groups of German/English bilinguals, one less proficient in English (L2) and the other more proficient in L2, performed two-digit number comparison tasks while the unit–decade compatibility was evaluated. All participants presented compatibility effect with Arabic digits regardless of their L2 proficiency. However, when bilinguals with less proficiency in L2 performed verbal number comparison tasks they showed regular compatibility effect in German and reverse compatibility effect in English, whereas more proficient bilinguals did not show compatibility effects in either German or English. In Experiment 2, the same pattern of results was obtained with highly proficient bilinguals after controlling their working memory span. These results indicate that L2 proficiency influences the processing of two-digit number words.     

Asymmetries in processing horizontal and vertical dimensions

The aim of this study was to determine whether the referential term on the horizontal dimension corresponds to the dominant hand and whether the referential term on the vertical dimension is independent of handedness. In order to verify the hypothesis, right-handers, left-handers, and ambidextrous subjects were required to verify and falsify statements including the words ABOVE and BELOW and the words LEFT and RIGHT. The results showed that right-handers were faster in verifying and falsifying the statements containing the term RIGHT, whereas left handers were faster in verifying and falsifying those containing the term LEFT. Ambidextrous subjects, however, showed no sign of asymmetry in the positional judgments of stimuli along the horizontal dimension. By contrast, right-handers, left-handers, and ambidextrous subjects were equally faster in verifying and falsifying the statements containing the term ABOVE than the statements containing the term BELOW. The relation between the positive term on the horizontal dimension and the dominant hand can be explained by the fact that, in the absence of any asymmetries in the physical world, the dominant hand can furnish a natural reference direction for judgments related to this dimension.     

The logical syntax of number words: Theory, acquisition and processing

Recent work on the acquisition of number words has emphasized the importance of integrating linguistic and developmental perspectives [Musolino, J. (2004). The semantics and acquisition of number words: Integrating linguistic and developmental perspectives. Cognition93, 1-41; Papafragou, A., Musolino, J. (2003). Scalar implicatures: Scalar implicatures: Experiments at the semantics-pragmatics interface. Cognition, 86, 253-282; Hurewitz, F., Papafragou, A., Gleitman, L., Gelman, R. (2006). Asymmetries in the acquisition of numbers and quantifiers. Language Learning and Development, 2, 76-97; Huang, Y. T., Snedeker, J., Spelke, L. (submitted for publication). What exactly do numbers mean?]. Specifically, these studies have shown that data from experimental investigations of child language can be used to illuminate core theoretical issues in the semantic and pragmatic analysis of number terms. In this article, I extend this approach to the logico-syntactic properties of number words, focusing on the way numerals interact with each other (e.g. Three boys are holding two balloons) as well as with other quantified expressions (e.g. Three boys are holding each balloon). On the basis of their intuitions, linguists have claimed that such sentences give rise to at least four different interpretations, reflecting the complexity of the linguistic structure and syntactic operations involved. Using psycholinguistic experimentation with preschoolers (n = 32) and adult speakers of English (n = 32), I show that (a) for adults, the intuitions of linguists can be verified experimentally, (b) by the age of 5, children have knowledge of the core aspects of the logical syntax of number words, (c) in spite of this knowledge, children nevertheless differ from adults in systematic ways, (d) the differences observed between children and adults can be accounted for on the basis of an independently motivated, linguistically-based processing model [Geurts, B. (2003). Quantifying kids. Language Acquisition, 11(4), 197-218]. In doing so, this work ties together research on the acquisition of the number vocabulary with a growing body of work on the development of quantification and sentence processing abilities in young children [Geurts, 2003; Lidz, J., Musolino, J. (2002). Children’s command of quantification. Cognition, 84, 113-154; Musolino, J., Lidz, J. (2003). The scope of isomorphism: Turning adults into children. Language Acquisition, 11(4), 277-291; Trueswell, J., Sekerina, I., Hilland, N., Logrip, M. (1999). The kindergarten-path effect: Studying on-line sentence processing in young children. Cognition, 73, 89-134; Noveck, I. (2001). When children are more logical than adults: Experimental investigations of scalar implicature. Cognition, 78, 165-188; Noveck, I., Guelminger, R., Georgieff, N., & Labruyere, N. (2007). What autism can tell us about every . . . not sentences. Journal of Semantics,24(1), 73-90. On a more general level, this work confirms the importance of integrating formal and developmental perspectives [Musolino, 2004], this time by highlighting the explanatory power of linguistically-based models of language acquisition and by showing that the complex structure postulated by linguists has important implications for developmental accounts of the number vocabulary.     

Extracting parity and magnitude from Arabic numerals: developmental changes in number processing and mental representation.

Children from Grades 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 (7.8, 9.2, 9.8, 11.7, and 13. 6 years old, respectively) made speeded, bimanual parity (odd/even) judgments of the Arabic numerals 0-9. Analysis of response times indicated that from fourth grade on, parity information is retrieved directly from memory rather than being extracted by means of a mental calculation strategy. As early as Grade 3, children exhibited the SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect, where small numbers were responded to faster with the left hand than with the right hand, while the converse held true for large numbers. This finding, previously demonstrated only in adults, confirms that (a) children represent magnitude information in the form of a left-to-right oriented mental number line, and (b) this information is accessed obligatorily even when irrelevant. Finally, although the SNARC effect remained strong at Grade 4, it was attenuated at Grades 6 and 8 by a linguistic effect based on associations between the unmarked adjectives "even" and "right" and between the marked adjectives "odd" and "left." Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Finger-digit compatibility in Arabic numeral processing

Finger-digit response compatibility was tested by asking participants to identify Arabic digits by pressing 1 of 10 keys with all 10 fingers. The direction of the finger-digit mapping was varied by manipulating the global direction of the hand-digit mapping as well as the direction of the finger-digit mapping within each hand (in each case, from small to large digits, or the reverse). The hypothesis of a left-to-right mental number line predicted that a complete left-to-right mapping should be easier whereas the hypothesis of a representation based on finger counting predicted that a counting-congruent mapping should be easier. The results show that when all 10 fingers are used to answer, a mapping congruent with the prototypical finger-counting strategy reported by the participants leads to better performance than does a mapping congruent with a left-to-right oriented mental number line, both in palm-down and palm-up postures of the hands, and they demonstrate that finger-counting strategies influence the way that numerical information is mentally represented and processed.     

The SNARC effect in the processing of second-language number words: Further evidence for strong lexico-semantic connections

We present new evidence that word translation involves semantic mediation. It has been shown that participants react faster to small numbers with their left hand and to large numbers with their right hand. This SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is due to the fact that in Western cultures the semantic number line is oriented from left (small) to right (large). We obtained a SNARC effect when participants had to indicate the parity of second-language (L2) number words, but not when they had to indicate whether L2 number words contained a particular sound. Crucially, the SNARC effect was also obtained in a translation verification task, indicating that this task involved the activation of number magnitude.     

The SNARC effect in the processing of second-language number words: further evidence for strong lexico-semantic connections

We present new evidence that word translation involves semantic mediation. It has been shown that participants react faster to small numbers with their left hand and to large numbers with their right hand. This SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is due to the fact that in Western cultures the semantic number line is oriented from left (small) to right (large). We obtained a SNARC effect when participants had to indicate the parity of second-language (L2) number words, but not when they had to indicate whether L2 number words contained a particular sound. Crucially, the SNARC effect was also obtained in a translation verification task, indicating that this task involved the activation of number magnitude.     

Visual field asymmetries in numerical size comparisons of digits, words, and signs

Visual field asymmetries were examined in American Sign Language-English bilinguals for speeded numerical size judgments of pairs of digits, number words, and number signs. Physical size of the number pairs was either congruent or incongruent with their numerical size. The results revealed a greater left visual field (LVF) interference for numbers represented as digits and a greater right visual field (RVF) interference for numbers represented as words or signs. Subjects' performance on number words and signs was also influenced by their skill in English and ASL: interference was greater in the RVF in the subjects' better language but was greater in the LVF for the less skilled language. These findings suggest that lateralization of numerical size judgments is moderated by the mode of number presentation and by prior language experience.     

Size in the visual processing of faces and words

We studied the influence of variations of stimulus size upon recognition of words and faces. Size played an important role in the recognition of faces but was irrelevant to the recognition of words, over a range of sizes. More detailed analysis revealed that although irrelevant to recognition, size of words was nevertheless encoded, with some consequences similar to those for recognition of faces. The results were interpreted in terms of stimulus-specific analyses, and this view was contrasted with other notions of mental representation.     

Concreteness effects in the processing of Chinese words

The present study examined the relationship between word concreteness and word frequency using event-related potential (ERP) measurements during a lexical decision task. Potential effects of concreteness in the processing of verbs were also examined. ERPs were recorded from 119 scalp electrodes in 23 right-handed participants. The results showed that concrete nouns were associated with a more negative ERP than abstract nouns at 200-300 and 300-500 ms after stimulus onset, regardless of word frequency. Between 300 and 500 ms, concrete nouns and abstract nouns produced differentiated scalp distributions, respectively. In terms of verbs, concreteness only produced small difference in ERP primarily in the central-parietal sites of the left hemisphere.     

How Spencer made number: First uses of the number words

This article describes the development of number concepts between infancy and early childhood. It is based on a diary study that tracked number word use in a child from 12 to 38 months of age. Number words appeared early in the child’s vocabulary, but accurate reference to specific numerosities evolved gradually over the entire 27-month period. Reliable performance on standardized number and counting tasks lagged behind accurate number use in informal settings by many months. Although there was evidence that this child labeled mentally represented sets, these instances comprised a very small proportion of the total sample and were usually references to anticipated sets rather than remembered sets.     

Cross-linguistic regularities in the frequency of number words.

We examine the frequency of numerals and ordinals in seven different languages and/or cultures. Many cross-cultural and cross-linguistic patterns are identified. The most striking is a decrease of frequency with numerical magnitude, with local increases for reference numerals such as 10, 12, 15, 20, 50 or 100. Four explanations are considered for this effect: sampling artifacts, notational regularities, environmental biases and psychological limitations on number representations. The psychological explanation, which appeals to a Fechnerian encoding of numerical magnitudes and to the existence of numerical points of reference, accounts for most of the data. Our finding also has practical importance since it reveals the frequent confound of two experimental variables: numerical magnitude and numeral frequency.     

Phonological processing of words in right- and left-handers

It is commonly accepted that phonology is the exclusive domain of the left hemisphere. However, this pattern of lateralization, which posits a right visual field advantage, has been questioned by several studies. In fact, certain factors such as characteristics of the stimuli and subjects' handedness can modulate the right visual field advantage. Thus, the goal of this study was to compare the hemispheric dynamics of right-handers and left-handers during a divided visual field presentation of words that varied in terms of their phonological transparency. For non-transparent words, the left hemisphere seems more competent in both handedness groups. With regard to transparent words, the right hemisphere of both groups also appears competent. Surprisingly, left-handers achieved optimal processing with a functionally isolated left hemisphere, whereas right-handers needed the participation of both hemispheres. The pattern of performance cannot be fully explained by either the callosal or the direct access model.     

The processing of affixed words

Two experiments are reported which suggest that affixed words are not morphologically decomposed but are processed as single units. Experiment 1 involved a lexical decision task, and it suggested that lexical access does not require decomposition. Experiment 2 involved a task designed to maximize the opportunity for decomposition, but it showed that subjects processed the test items as single units. These results are discussed in relation to o;her evidence that has been offered to support the occurrence of morphological decomposition.     

Grapheme-phoneme processing of single words

Often used in cognitive studies measuring reaction times and in functional imaging studies, the subtraction paradigm is based on the comparison of performance on tasks presupposed to refer to different cognitive levels of processing. Within the framework of the study of phonological processing of words, manipulating the grapheme-phoneme transparency of stimuli can represent a means of counteracting the methodological drawbacks inherent to the subtraction paradigm. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the level of difficulty of grapheme-phoneme matching on the processing of transparent and nontransparent words. Grapheme-phoneme matching was carried out both on the final syllable of words and on sublexical segments within the word. The results indicate that processing is faster for the transparent than for the nontransparent stimuli. This task will now have to be reintroduced in brain imaging studies aiming to look at different levels of difficulty for grapheme-phoneme matching.     

Developmental changes in the semantic processing of pictures and words

Second- and fifth-graders' semantic decision times for pictures and words were analyzed relative to the predictions derived from unitary- and dual-memory models. At both grade levels, word-word response latencies were greater than picture-word latencies which, in turn, were greater than picture-picture latencies. An interaction between Grade and Condition indicated that verbal access times decreased more than pictorial access times. The data fit the predictions of a memory model postulating category storage in a single memory system as opposed to simultaneous representation in verbal and nonverbal memory systems. It was concluded that with increasing experience verbal access to this single semantic system is more rapid.     

The processing of inflected words

Summary Is an inflected word identified by first decomposing it into stem plus suffix or, instead, is it recognized as a whole? Several lexical decision experiments studied the recognition of inflected words in English (a language with few inflections) and Serbo-Croatian (a heavily inflected language). If recognition depended on decomposition, preceding the inflection with a brief exposure of the stem (<100 ms) should have primed the lexical entry for the stem and, therefore, facilitated recognition of the whole inflected word that followed. It did not. It was also found that the speed of recognizing an inflected word was more strongly associated with the frequency of the whole inflected form than with the frequency of its stem. The results suggested that in word recognition, lexical contact is first made with the whole word form. Nevertheless, morphological decomposition may still occur in subsequent processing.     

Parafoveal processing within and between words

Parafoveal preview was examined within and between words in two eye movement experiments. In Experiment 1, unspaced and spaced English compound words were used (e.g., basketball, tennis ball). Prior to fixating the second lexeme, either a correct or a partial parafoveal preview (e.g., ball or badk) was provided using the boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975). There was a larger effect of parafoveal preview on unspaced compound words than on spaced compound words. However, the parafoveal preview effect on spaced compound words was larger than would be predicted on the basis of prior research. Experiment 2 examined whether this large effect was due to spaced compounds forming a larger linguistic unit by pairing spaced compounds with nonlexicalized adjective–noun pairs. There were no significant interactions between item type and parafoveal preview, suggesting that it is the syntactic predictability of the noun that is driving the large preview effect.