Meaning and modality: influences of context, semantic memory organization, and perceptual predictability on picture processing

Using event-related potentials (ERPs), the authors investigated the influences of sentence context, semantic memory organization, and perceptual predictability on picture processing. Participants read pairs of highly or weakly constraining sentences that ended with (a) the expected item, (b) an unexpected item from the expected semantic category, or (c) an unexpected item from an unexpected category. Pictures were unfamiliar in Experiment 1 but preexposed in Experiment 2. ERPs to pictures reflected both contextual fit and memory organization, as do ERPs to words in the same contexts (K. D. Federmeier & M. Kutas, 1999). However, different response patterns were observed to pictures than to words. Some of these arose from perceptual predictability differences, whereas others seem to reflect true modality-based differences in semantic feature activation. Although words and pictures may share semantic memory, the authors' results show that semantic processing is not amodal.     

不同控制水平下的汉字语义加工

字词语义的加工是否受其它加工过程或操纵手段的控制一直是自动化研究的热点,以往针对英文字词的研究结果不尽一致。本研究以在该类研究中比英文单词更具优越性的汉字为材料,采用部件搜索任务,通过操纵控制水平的强弱探讨汉字的语义加工是否受控制这一问题。实验一考察汉字的语义是否受浅水平加工和无意识操纵的控制（低控制水平）;实验二探讨增强了的控制水平是否能够控制语义的加工。结果在实验一中发现了语义负启动效应;实验二出现了正启动和负启动效应。该结果表明,控制机制并不能阻止汉字语义加工本身的发生,仅能对已经产生激活的语义进行调控,提示汉字的语义加工是不可控的。     

Item and order information in semantic memory: students’ retention of the “CU fight song” lyrics

University of Colorado (CU) students were tested on memory for the “CU Fight Song” in order to examine serial position effects in semantic memory while controlling for familiarity across positions. In Experiment 1, students reconstructed the order of the nine lines of the song. Students with previous exposure to the song performed better and showed a more bowed serial position function than did students with no knowledge of the song. Experiment 2 added a task assessing memory of item information. One word was removed and replaced with a blank in each line, and an alternative word was offered as an option, along with the correct word. Students selected the word that fit into each blank and then reconstructed the order of the lines. There was a bow-shaped curve for order reconstruction, but not for item selection, which implies that the serial position function in semantic memory stems from order, rather than item, information.     

情绪概念加工与情绪面孔知觉的相互影响

通过3个实验探讨情绪概念加工与情绪面孔知觉是否存在相互影响, 以及加工深度对两者关系的影响。实验1采用情绪面孔启动范式, 探讨较深的情绪概念加工层面对情绪概念与情绪面孔的关系的影响。实验2更改概念任务, 探讨较浅的概念加工层面对两者关系的影响。实验3缩短启动面孔呈现时间, 探讨较浅的面孔知觉层面对两者关系的影响。通过研究主要得出以下结论：(1)情绪概念加工与情绪面孔知觉确实存在相互影响; (2)概念加工深度影响两者关系的方向性, 在较深的概念加工层面, 两者的关系是双向的, 在较浅的概念加工层面, 两者的关系是单向的; (3)知觉加工深度也影响两者关系的方向性, 在较深的知觉加工层面, 两者的关系是双向的, 在较浅的知觉加工层面, 没有发现两者的相互影响。本研究为抽象概念的具身表征提供了实证支持。     

Automatic phonological coding of unattended printed words

A lexical decision response to an attended printed word can be slowed when the word is accompanied by an unattended word that is semantically related. Does this hold for an unattended word that is not related to the target word but sounds as if it is? The homophone WASTE can be shown to affect the lexical decision response to RUBBISH, but how does the incongruently related homophone WAIST affect RUBBISH? If incongruent homophones of words related to the attended word can influence processing when they are not being attended to, then it must be through automatic processing into a phonological code, either before or after lexical access. Experiment 1 reports such an effect, and it is concluded that a phonological representation is generated preattentively and influences the semantic processing of the attended word after generation of that representation. Experiment 2 confirms the effect and investigates the possibility that the effect exists because of the strategic use of phonological encoding of attended words. To discourage the use of a phonological strategy for lexical access, all nonwords were pseudohomophones. The influence persisted, however, with attended words still being affected by the presence of incongruent homophones of related words.     

语言和情境对具体概念感知运动仿真的影响

具体概念加工中的感知运动仿真是概念表征的核心加工过程。本研究系统探讨了语言因素(语言类型：第一语言和第二语言)和情境因素(知觉情境：空间知觉情境和语义知觉情境)对具体概念加工中感知运动仿真的影响。实验1采用语义相关判断范式探讨了第二语言加工过程中是否存在感知运动仿真, 以及第二语言中的仿真和第一语言中的仿真是否存在差异。研究发现, 第二语言加工中依然存在感知运动仿真, 但是第一语言的感知运动仿真具有一定的优势。实验2采用语义相关判断范式及其变式, 通过2个分实验分别探讨了个体加工概念时空间知觉信息和语义知觉信息对于概念表征过程中感知运动仿真的影响。研究发现, 无论是在较弱的空间信息知觉条件下还是在较浅的语义信息知觉条件下, 具体概念加工过程中都产生了感知运动仿真。本研究的发现弥补了知觉符号理论未对第二语言中的感知运动仿真提出针对性预测的不足, 表明感知运动仿真具有一定的跨语言稳定性。同时, 具体概念加工中的感知运动仿真不受空间信息和语义信息的调节, 这表明感知运动仿真能在一定程度上自动化产生。     

What does naming a picture do? Effects of prior picture naming on recognition of identical and same-name alternatives

Three experiments investigated the effects of naming pictures of objects during study on the subsequent recognition of physically identical, name-match, and new objects. Prior naming improved correct classification of all three item types at recognition. For line drawings and for photographs of functionally distinct objects, prior naming reduced the tendency to confuse identical and same-name alternatives. In Experiment 2, prior naming eliminated the right visual field/left hemisphere advantage for speeded recognition of name-match pictures, suggesting that prior naming reduces the likelihood that pictures are named at recognition. The implications of these results for dual-encoding (Paivio, 1971) and sensory-semantic (Nelson, Reed, & McEvoy, 1977) models of picture and word processing are discussed. The results suggest that the semantic representations of objects that are perceptually distinct but share a common name are not identical, and that the effect of naming such objects is to insure that a distinct semantic representation becomes a part of the resulting memory code.     

Adaptive memory: The influence of sleep and wake delay on the survival-processing effect

Processing items in terms of their survival value leads to superior memory relative to many deep (semantic) processing tasks. To date, such survival processing has been investigated with short delay intervals only, ignoring possible effects of longer wake and sleep delay. In this study, subjects performed orienting tasks that induced survival or deep (semantic) processing of single items. A surprise memory test was administered after a short delay or a delay of 12 hours that included either sleep or wake; a cued-recall test was conducted in Experiment 1, and an item-recognition test in Experiment 2. Survival-processing effects were present regardless of delay, and their size was not influenced by delay interval. While wake delay reduced memory for both item types, sleep compared to wake enhanced their memory. These results suggest that the survival-processing effect is fully maintained across longer delay, regardless of whether the interval is filled with wake or sleep.     

Semantic processing of Arabic,Kanji, and Kana numbers: Evidence from interference in physical and numerical size judgments

Two experiments were conducted with the following objectives (1) to replicate the finding of similar semantic representation of Arabic and written-word (Kanji and Kana) numbers with a direct numerical task, (2) to investigate the automatic semantic processing of Arabic and written-word numbers, and (3) to verify whether the assumption of a common semantic representation is valid in an indirect numerical task. Subjects were asked to judge which of two numbers (e.g, 6-8) was larger either in its numerical size (Experiment 1) or in its physical size (Experiment 2) using the three notations. Effects of two factors were analyzed: the congruity between numerical and physical size and the numerical distance. The effects of these factors were very similar across the three notations in Experiment 1, but were drastically different in Experiment 2. The results of Experiment 2 demonstrated the nonsemantic processing of Kana numbers, and suggest that there may be separate semantic representations for Arabic and Kanji numbers.     

Representation in the mental lexicon: Implications for theories of the generation effect

Three experiments investigated the finding by McElroy and Slamecka (1982) that the “generation effect” (the retention advantage for self-produced over read items) is not obtained when artificial, meaningless nonwords are used as the to-be-remembered items. In Experiment 1, some subjects were asked to generate or read items that they thought were words, but, in fact, were not; no generation effect was found. In Experiment 2, subjects were taught definitions to experimenter-created items. Despite the fact that these subjects could readily retrieve each item’s assigned semantic properties, no generation effect was found. Finally, Experiment 3 examined the read]generate variable as a function of an item’s frequency of use in the language. Whereas medium- and high-frequency words produced large generation effects, no comparable effects were found for low-frequency words or nonwords. These results indicate that representation in the mental lexicon is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the generation effect. Rather, it may be necessary to consider how related the generated item is to other potential retrieval cues in the memory system.     

Perceptual and conceptual sources of priming on a word generation task

Repetition of any number of cognitive processes can facilitate subsequent performance (i.e., repetition priming). In this study, we explored several candidate mechanisms that could account for repetition priming on a word generation task. In Experiment 1, we examined whether repetition of semantic processing is necessary for priming on this task. In Experiment 2, we examined whether repetition of semantic processing is sufficient for priming on this task. In both experiments, we additionally examined the effect of changing the specific nature of the semantic retrieval task (i.e., from visual to functional, and vice versa) on performance. The results from these experiments indicated that repetition of semantic processing is both necessary and sufficient to produce a facilitation effect on the word generation task. However, semantic processing of the same attribute does not need to be repeated for facilitation effects to occur. Implications of these findings for theories of the representation and retrieval of semantic knowledge are discussed.     

汉语颠倒词加工中重复知盲发生的水平

以汉语中的颠倒词为材料, 探讨汉语重复知盲的发生水平。采用RSVP方式呈现包含颠倒词对(C1和C2)的句子列表或词语列表, 让被试对列表中的词进行全部报告或报告是否存在重复词, 记录报告C2的正确率。三个实验采用3 (词语的重复性: 颠倒重复、完全重复、不重复) × 2 (颠倒词对的意义相似性: 意义不同、意义相似)两因素被试内设计, 结果在全部报告和报告是否存在重复词的实验中都出现重复性和意义相似性的交互效应, 但不同实验任务, 数据模式不同。该结果表明, 在RSVP任务中, 汉语颠倒词加工存在RB效应, 该效应产生的水平受制于不同的实验任务, 在部分报告任务中, 颠倒词的RB效应发生在知觉水平, 在全部报告任务中, 颠倒词的RB效应发生在语义水平。     

The effects of ageing and visual noise on conceptual integration during sentence reading

The effortfulness hypothesis implies that difficulty in decoding the surface form, as in the case of age-related sensory limitations or background noise, consumes the attentional resources that are then unavailable for semantic integration in language comprehension. Because ageing is associated with sensory declines, degrading of the surface form by a noisy background can pose an extra challenge for older adults. In two experiments, this hypothesis was tested in a self-paced moving window paradigm in which younger and older readers' online allocation of attentional resources to surface decoding and semantic integration was measured as they read sentences embedded in varying levels of visual noise. When visual noise was moderate (Experiment 1), resource allocation among young adults was unaffected but older adults allocated more resources to decode the surface form at the cost of resources that would otherwise be available for semantic processing; when visual noise was relatively intense (Experiment 2), both younger and older participants allocated more attention to the surface form and less attention to semantic processing. The decrease in attentional allocation to semantic integration resulted in reduced recall of core ideas in both experiments, suggesting that a less organized semantic representation was constructed in noise. The greater vulnerability of older adults at relatively low levels of noise is consistent with the effortfulness hypothesis.     

A developmental study of semantic effects on recognition memory

Three experiments evaluated color specificity knowledge and related semantic effects on recognition memory. Experiment I provided the necessary baseline data to show that preschool and college students know the appropriate color of objects. Experiment II revealed semantic effects on recognition of children but not adults. In Experiment III a delay was introduced and adults showed semantic effects as well. The chroma of color-specific and non-color-specific items was remembered relatively well, although chroma recognition for these item types was somewhat different. The semantic effects on very young children's memory suggest deep level interpretive processing in children younger than those generally showing deliberate deployment of memory strategies.     

纯小数加工的心理机制:选择通达还是平行通达?

采用数字线索提示的目标觉察范式,以60名在校大学生与研究生为被试,设计3个实验探讨纯小数(整数部分是零的小数,例如0.2)的加工及其与空间表征的联系。实验1探讨纯小数作为线索时是否能引起空间注意的空间-数字反应编码联合效应(Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes,SNARC),结果发现,纯小数数量大小的加工可以引起空间注意的SNARC效应;实验2探讨纯小数的加工是否会同时激活小数点后对应的自然数,结果发现,对纯小数数量大小相同、小数点后对应的自然数是否有0(例如0.2和0.20,0.4和0.40)的加工能引起空间注意的转移;实验3比较纯小数的加工对纯小数本身及小数点后对应的自然数激活强度,结果发现,在纯小数数量大小判断和纯小数小数点后对应的自然数数量大小判断冲突的条件下,纯小数的加工未能引起注意的SNARC效应。该研究结果表明,在目标觉察范式中,纯小数的加工采取了平行通达的方式,引发了注意的SNARC效应,并且纯小数空间注意的转移受到纯小数本身以及对应的自然数的影响。     

Selective attention to global and local structure of objects: Alternative measures of nontarget processing

When individuals are asked to report either the global or the local level of structure in a stimulus pattern located inside a relevant object, distractors located within an irrelevant object will interfere only if they are at the same level of structure as that of the target item (Briand, 1993; Paquet & Merikle, 1988). The basis of this level-specific filtering is unclear, as is the true level of semantic analysis for the ignored items. In the present series of experiments, multiple measures of nontarget processing were used to assess concurrent interference, negative priming, and a category effect supposedly reflecting a more abstract level of semantic analysis. These different indicants were assessed in three experiments in which form, color, or a spatial precue was used to direct attention to the relevant stimulus pattern. Overall, cuing by form produced poorer spatial selectivity, whereas spatial precues and color led to better selectivity. However, the three measures of nontarget processing were not equally affected by these manipulations, with global information showing more evidence for semantic analysis than for local analysis regardless of the type of selection cue used. The results suggest that inhibition is not the basis of target selection when ignored items are local, but that it may be used when global items are ignored.     

The effects of ageing and visual noise on conceptual integration during sentence reading

The effortfulness hypothesis implies that difficulty in decoding the surface form, as in the case of age-related sensory limitations or background noise, consumes the attentional resources that are then unavailable for semantic integration in language comprehension. Because ageing is associated with sensory declines, degrading of the surface form by a noisy background can pose an extra challenge for older adults. In two experiments, this hypothesis was tested in a self-paced moving window paradigm in which younger and older readers’ online allocation of attentional resources to surface decoding and semantic integration was measured as they read sentences embedded in varying levels of visual noise. When visual noise was moderate (Experiment 1), resource allocation among young adults was unaffected but older adults allocated more resources to decode the surface form at the cost of resources that would otherwise be available for semantic processing; when visual noise was relatively intense (Experiment 2), both younger and older participants allocated more attention to the surface form and less attention to semantic processing. The decrease in attentional allocation to semantic integration resulted in reduced recall of core ideas in both experiments, suggesting that a less organized semantic representation was constructed in noise. The greater vulnerability of older adults at relatively low levels of noise is consistent with the effortfulness hypothesis.     

基于熟悉性的项目间语义关系再认

在项目间语义关系的熟悉性研究中, 一个关键问题是熟悉性效应依赖于哪种信息的加工, 关系概念还是抽象结构?研究通过两个实验, 借助无线索回忆再认范式(the recognition without cued recall paradigm, 简称RWCR范式)和四词类比材料, 采用混合设计, 直接分离与比较关系概念和抽象结构的加工对RWCR效应的影响。结果发现, 关系概念作为测验线索能够引发显著RWCR效应, 但仅仅学习关系概念却不能;只有学习关系概念的结构化材料时, 才能引发显著RWCR效应。该结果表明, 项目间语义关系的熟悉性过程与结构信息有关。     

Retrieving texts from an external store: the effects of an explanatory context and of semantic fit between text and address

Summary External-information storage may reduce the load on human memory. But if information is preserved in an external store the task of retrieving information from that store puts new demands on memory. This creates a trade-off between internal and external storage. One of the prerequisites for external retrieval is learning an address. In this study, the trade-off between internal and external retrieval is exemplified by contrasting the memorization of written texts with the memorization of addresses under which these texts are stored in a computer file. In Experiment 1 Ss were tested for the retention of addresses. In Experiment 2 they were tested for the retention of texts, but had the choice between memorizing the texts and memorizing an address under which the texts were available. Independent variables were the availability of an explanatory context, and the semantic fit between address and text. An explanatory context improved address learning in Experiment 1 and unaided recall in Experiment 2. It did not influence the utilization of addresses as tested in Experiment 2. The semantic fit between address and text had a considerable impact on both the learning and the utilization of addresses. Whereas some subjects were assigned standard addresses, others generated their own addresses. Self-generated addresses had effects similar to standard addresses selected for high semantic fit. It is suggested that learning an external address involves an internal representation of the material stored under that address.