Norms of age of acquisition and concreteness for 30,000 Dutch words

Word processing studies increasingly make use of regression analyses based on large numbers of stimuli (the so-called megastudy approach) rather than experimental designs based on small factorial designs. This requires the availability of word features for many words. Following similar studies in English, we present and validate ratings of age of acquisition and concreteness for 30,000 Dutch words. These include nearly all lemmas language researchers are likely to be interested in. The ratings are freely available for research purposes.     

Introducing a new entity into discourse: Comprehension and production evidence for the status of Dutch er “there” as a higher-level expectancy monitor

This paper reports on the ways in which new entities are introduced into discourse. First, we present the evidence in support of a model of indefinite reference processing based on three principles: the listener’s ability to make predictive inferences in order to decrease the unexpectedness of upcoming words, the availability to the speaker of grammatical constructions that customize predictive inferences, and the use of “expectancy monitors” to signal and facilitate the introduction of highly unpredictable entities. We provide evidence that one of these expectancy monitors in Dutch is the post-verbal variant of existential er (the equivalent of the unstressed existential “there” in English). In an eye-tracking experiment we demonstrate that the presence of er decreases the processing difficulties caused by low subject expectancy. A corpus-based regression analysis subsequently confirms that the production of er is determined almost exclusively by seven parameters of low subject expectancy. Together, the comprehension and production data suggest that while existential er functions as an expectancy monitor in much the same way as speech disfluencies (hesitations, pauses and filled pauses), er is a higher-level expectancy monitor because it is available in spoken and written discourse and because it is produced more systematically than any disfluency.     

Strategic and automatic components in the processing of linguistic spatial relations

The objective of the present study was to determine the extent to which strategies influence the representational format of a linguistic spatial relation. The propositional model assumes that a sentence describing a spatial relation is always represented as a set of propositions, whereas the strategic model claims that a spatial sentence can be represented either as a set of propositions or as a mental image, depending on the strategy (verbal or visual-spatial) an individual follows. Participants read a sentence (spatial or non-spatial) followed by a picture or sentence, which did or did not exemplify the information of the first sentence. In order to examine the involvement of strategic and automatic components the probability (20% or 80%) of the nature (sentence or picture) of the second stimulus was varied. Participants had slower verification RTs for unexpected stimuli than for expected stimuli, but this cost was significantly larger for an unexpected picture than an unexpected sentence. Furthermore, this asymmetric cost for the unexpected visual-spatial stimulus only occurred with spatial sentences and not with non-spatial sentences. Surprisingly, these data do not support a strictly propositional or a strategic model. Instead, we propose a third option: a dual representational model, in which people automatically represent the spatial sentence propositionally. In addition, depending on the context, a pictorial strategy is employed, which results in a supplementary visual-spatial representation.     

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.     

Neural aspects of second language representation and language control

A basic issue in the neurosciences of language is whether an L2 can be processed through the same neural mechanism underlying L1 acquisition and processing. In the present paper I review data from functional neuroimaging studies focusing on grammatical and lexico-semantic processing in bilinguals. The available evidence indicates that the L2 seems to be acquired through the same neural structures responsible for L1 acquisition. This fact is also observed for grammar acquisition in late L2 learners contrary to what one may expect from critical period accounts. However, neural differences for an L2 may be observed, in terms of more extended activity of the neural system mediating L1 processing. These differences may disappear once a more 'native-like' proficiency is established, reflecting a change in language processing mechanisms: from controlled processing for a weak L2 system (i.e., a less proficient L2) to more automatic processing. The neuroimaging data reviewed in this paper also support the notion that language control is a crucial aspect specific to the bilingual language system. The activity of brain areas related to cognitive control during the processing of a 'weak' L2 may reflect competition and conflict between languages which may be resolved with the intervention of these areas.     

Gambles vs. quasi-realistic scenarios: expectations to find probability and risk-defusing information

The paper investigates predecisional information search in risky decisions, specifically information concerning the probability of a negative outcome and whether a risk-defusing operator (RDO) is available. Experiment 1 (54 participants) tested the hypothesis that search for such information is triggered by expectations that it can be obtained in the situation. Cues for the availability of information were manipulated. It was predicted that cues mentioning possible information sources raise expectations and consequently increase search activity. Furthermore, gambles were expected to differ from other real world contexts, with lower expectations for RDOs and higher ones for probabilities. The Method of Active Information Search was employed. The number of questions asked about probability and RDOs in different conditions confirmed the hypotheses. Experiment 2 (36 participants) ruled out the alternative interpretation that the expectation to actually find favorable probabilities or applicable RDOs respectively, rather than the expectation to obtain information, determined information search.     

Attention, temporal predictability, and the time course of context effects in naming performance

Models of attention and context effects in naming performance should be able to account for the time course of color-word Stroop interference revealed by manipulations of the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between color and word. Prominent models of Stroop task performance ( [Cohen et al., 1990], [Cohen and Huston, 1994] and [Phaf et al., 1990]) fail to account for the fact that response time (RT) and Stroop interference peak at zero SOA and diminish with word preexposure. The models may be saved by assuming that the time course of interference is determined by a strategic orienting of attention to color onsets when SOA is predictable. To test this temporal predictability hypothesis, SOA was blocked or randomly mixed in Experiment 1. In addition, the time interval between color onsets was randomly variable in Experiment 2. Although RTs were affected, none of the randomization manipulations influenced the typical shape of the time course of Stroop effects. These findings provide evidence against the temporal predictability hypothesis and thereby against prominent models of the Stroop task.     

More than,less than,or minimum,maximum: how upper and lower bounds determine subjective interval estimates

Uncertain quantities can be described by single‐point estimates of lower interval bounds (X₁), upper interval bounds (X₂), two‐bound estimates (separate estimates of X₁ and X₂), and by ranges (X₁?X₂). A price estimation task showed that single‐bound estimates phrased as “T costs more than X₁” and “T costs less than X₂,” yielded much larger intervals than “minimum X₁” and “maximum X₂.” This difference can be attributed to exclusive interpretations of X₁ and X₂ in the first case (X₁ and X₂ are unlikely values), and inclusive interpretations in the second (X₁ and X₂ are likely values). This pattern of results was replicated in other domains where participants estimated single targets. When they estimated a distribution of targets, the pattern was reversed. “Minimum” and “maximum” values of variable quantities (e.g., flight prices) were found to delimit larger intervals than “more than” and “less than” estimates. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representing time in language and memory: The role of similarity structure

Every day we read about or watch events in the world and can easily understand or remember how long they last. What aspects of an event are retained in memory? And how do we extract temporal information from our memory representations? These issues are central to human cognition, as they underlie a fundamental aspect of our mental life, namely our representation of time. This paper reviews previous language studies and reports a visual learning study indicating that properties of the events encoded in memory shape the representation of their duration. The evidence indicates that for a given event, the extent to which its associated properties or sub-components differ from one another modulates our representation of its duration. These properties include the similarity between sub-events and the similarity between the situational contexts in which an event occurs. We suggest that the diversity of representations that we associate with events in memory plays an important role in remembering and estimating the duration of experienced or described events.     

A comparison of upper vs. lower and right vs. left visual fields using lexical decision

A series of experiments using the lexical decision task was conducted in order to investigate the functional differences between the upper and lower visual fields (UVF, LoVF) in word recognition. Word-nonword discrimination was swifter and more accurate for word stimuli presented in the UVF. Changing the eccentricity did not affect the UVF advantage over the LoVF. UVF superiority over LoVF was found to be equivalent for both right and left visual hemifield (RVF, LVF). In general, presenting related word primes enhanced all visual field differences in a similar manner (UVF over LoVF and RVF over LVF). However, primes consisting of semantically constraining sentences enhanced the RVF advantage over the LVF, but did not affect the UVF and LoVF differentially. The argument is made that UVF superiority cannot be due to perceptual or attentional differences alone, but must also reflect top-down information flow.     

The resilience of gesture in talk: gesture in blind speakers and listeners

Spontaneous gesture frequently accompanies speech. The question is why. In these studies, we tested two non‐mutually exclusive possibilities. First, speakers may gesture simply because they see others gesture and learn from this model to move their hands as they talk. We tested this hypothesis by examining spontaneous communication in congenitally blind children and adolescents. Second, speakers may gesture because they recognize that gestures can be useful to the listener. We tested this hypothesis by examining whether speakers gesture even when communicating with a blind listener who is unable to profit from the information that the hands convey. We found that congenitally blind speakers, who had never seen gestures, nevertheless gestured as they spoke, conveying the same information and producing the same range of gesture forms as sighted speakers. Moreover, blind speakers gestured even when interacting with another blind individual who could not have benefited from the information contained in those gestures. These findings underscore the robustness of gesture in talk and suggest that the gestures that co‐occur with speech may serve a function for the speaker as well as for the listener.     

Tense and Agreement dissociations in German agrammatic speakers: underspecification vs. hierarchy

The aim of the present paper was to investigate whether German agrammatic production data are compatible with the Tree-Pruning-Hypothesis (TPH; Friedmann & Grodzinsky, 1997). The theory predicts unidirectional patterns of dissociation in agrammatic production data with respect to Tense and Agreement. However, there was evidence of a double dissociation between Tense and Agreement in our data. The presence of a bidirectional dissociation is incompatible with any theory which assumes a hierarchical order between these categories such as the TPH or other versions thereof (such as Lee's, 2003 top--down hypothesis). It will be argued that the data can better be accounted for by relying on newer linguistic theories such as the Minimalist Program (MP,), which does not assume a hierarchical order between independent syntactic Tense and Agreement nodes but treats them as different features (semantically interpretable vs. uninterpretable) under a single node.     

Familiarity breeds dissent: Reliability analyses for British-English idioms on measures of familiarity,meaning, literality,and decomposability

To date, there have been several attempts made to build a database of normative data for English idiomatic expressions (e.g., Libben & Titone, 2008; Titone & Connine, 1994), however, there has been some discussion in the literature as to the validity and reliability of the data obtained, particularly for decomposability ratings. Our work aimed to address these issues by looking at ratings from native and non-native speakers and to extend the deeper investigation and analysis of decomposability to other aspects of idiomatic expressions, namely familiarly, meaning and literality. Poor reliability was observed on all types of ratings, suggesting that rather than decomposability being a special case, individual variability plays a large role in how participants rate idiomatic phrases in general. Ratings from native and non-native speakers were positively correlated and an analysis of covariance found that once familiarity with an idiom was accounted for, most of the differences between native and non-native ratings were not significant. Overall, the results suggest that individual experience with idioms plays an important role in how they are perceived and this should be taken into account when selecting stimuli for experimental studies. Furthermore, the results are suggestive of the inability of speakers to inhibit the figurative meanings for idioms that they are highly familiar with.     

Looking, language, and memory: Bridging research from the visual world and visual search paradigms

In the visual world paradigm as used in psycholinguistics, eye gaze (i.e. visual orienting) is measured in order to draw conclusions about linguistic processing. However, current theories are underspecified with respect to how visual attention is guided on the basis of linguistic representations. In the visual search paradigm as used within the area of visual attention research, investigators have become more and more interested in how visual orienting is affected by higher order representations, such as those involved in memory and language. Within this area more specific models of orienting on the basis of visual information exist, but they need to be extended with mechanisms that allow for language-mediated orienting. In the present paper we review the evidence from these two different – but highly related – research areas. We arrive at a model in which working memory serves as the nexus in which long-term visual as well as linguistic representations (i.e. types) are bound to specific locations (i.e. tokens or indices). The model predicts that the interaction between language and visual attention is subject to a number of conditions, such as the presence of the guiding representation in working memory, capacity limitations, and cognitive control mechanisms.     

Differentiation of press durations with upper and lower limits on reinforced values

Rats received food following lever-press durations between t and t+t′ sec where t was 2, 4, or 8 sec and t′ was 0.25t, 0.50t, or 1.00t sec. Modal press durations were greater than t but less than t+t′ in all cases. Distributions of press durations were lower and broader for larger values of t. Lower t′/t ratios produced lower median press durations and relatively narrower press-duration distributions. Median press duration was a power function of t within a t′/t ratio condition, corresponding to previous results for latency, interresponse time, and response durations.     

Time course of the Simon effect in pointing movements for horizontal, vertical, and acoustic stimuli: evidence for a common mechanism

In the Simon effect, responses to a non-spatial attribute are faster when the irrelevant spatial position of the stimulus corresponds to the position of the response. It was suggested that there are two distinct mechanisms involved in the Simon effect. In the visuomotor Simon effect, the stimulus transiently activates the corresponding response which results in a decaying Simon effect function (i.e., the Simon effect decreases in slower reaction time [RT]-bins). In contrast, the cognitive Simon effect arises from a conflict between stimulus and response codes and is associated with a stable Simon effect function (i.e., the Simon effect is the same in fast and slow RT-bins). We recorded RTs and motor parameters of pointing movements in a Simon paradigm. Consistent with the previous research, the time course of the Simon effect in RTs was stable with vertical visual and horizontal acoustic stimuli (cognitive Simon tasks), but decreased with horizontal visual stimuli (visuomotor Simon task). In contrast, the Simon effect in motor parameters decreased across RT-bins in all conditions, supporting the idea that only a single, common mechanism underlies the Simon effect.     

When values matter: Expressing values in behavioral intentions for the near vs. distant future

It was predicted that because of their abstract nature, values will have greater impact on how individuals plan their distant future than their near future. Experiments 1 and 2 found that values better predict behavioral intentions for distant future situations than near future situations. Experiment 3 found that whereas high-level values predict behavioral intentions for more distant future situations, low-level feasibility considerations predict behavioral intentions for more proximate situation. Finally, Experiment 4 found that the temporal changes in the relationship between values and behavioral intentions depended on how the behavior was construed. Higher correspondence is found when behaviors are construed on a higher level and when behavior is planned for the more distant future than when the same behavior is construed on a lower level or is planned for the more proximal future. The implications of these findings for self-consistency and value conflicts are discussed.     

When language gets emotional: Irony and the embodiment of affect in discourse

Although there is increasing evidence to suggest that language is grounded in perception and action, the relationship between language and emotion is less well understood. We investigate the grounding of language in emotion using a novel approach that examines the relationship between the comprehension of a written discourse and the performance of affect-related motor actions (hand movements towards and away from the body). Results indicate that positively and negatively valenced words presented in context influence motor responses (Experiment 1), whilst valenced words presented in isolation do not (Experiment 3). Furthermore, whether discourse context indicates that an utterance should be interpreted literally or ironically can influence motor responding, suggesting that the grounding of language in emotional states can be influenced by discourse-level factors (Experiment 2). In addition, the finding of affect-related motor responses to certain forms of ironic language, but not to non-ironic control sentences, suggests that phrasing a message ironically may influence the emotional response that is elicited.