Repetition priming in picture naming and translation depends on shared processes and their difficulty: evidence from spanish-english bilinguals

Two experiments with highly fluent Spanish-English bilinguals examined repetition priming of picture identification and word retrieval in picture naming. In Experiment 1, between-language priming of picture naming was symmetric, but within-language priming was stronger in the nondominant language. In Experiment 2, priming between picture naming and translation was symmetric within both the dominant language and the nondominant language, but priming was stronger in the nondominant language. A mathematical model required only 3 process parameters to explain the pattern of priming across 8 conditions. These results indicate that shared processes are the basis of priming, that difficulty influences priming only at the process level, and that translation in both directions is concept mediated in fluent bilinguals.     

Repetition priming in picture naming: sustained learning through the speeding of multiple processes

Picture naming has been used by vision researchers to study object identification, by language researchers to study word production, and by memory researchers to study implicit memory. Response times for naming repeated pictures decrease with successive repetitions. Repetition priming in picture naming involves an implicit, nonhippocampal form of memory. In this review, the processes speeded with repetition are decomposed, the time course of the effect is characterized, the factors affecting the magnitude of priming are enumerated, and possible mechanisms of priming are evaluated. Both behavioral response time and neuroimaging studies are considered. The processes that are speeded with repetition include high-level object identification and word production processes, but not low-level visual processes or articulation. Repetition priming lasts for at least several weeks and follows a typical forgetting function. The mechanism of priming is concluded to be speeded completion of the component processes of picture naming.     

Semantic and associative priming in picture naming

We report four picture-naming experiments in which the pictures were preceded by visually presented word primes. The primes could either be semantically related to the picture (e.g., "boat" - TRAIN: co-ordinate pairs) or associatively related (e.g., "nest" - BIRD: associated pairs). Performance under these conditions was always compared to performance under unrelated conditions (e.g., "flower" - CAT). In order to distinguish clearly the first two kinds of prime, we chose our materials so that (a) the words in the co-ordinate pairs were not verbally associated, and (b) the associate pairs were not co-ordinates. Results show that the two related conditions behaved in different ways depending on the stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) separating word and picture appearance, but not on how long the primes were presented. When presented with a brief SOA (114 ms, Experiment 1), the co-ordinate primes produced an interference effect, but the associated primes did not differ significantly from the unrelated primes. Conversely , with a longer SOA (234 ms, Experiment 2) the co-ordinate primes produced no effect, whereas a significant facilitation effect was observed for associated primes, independent of the duration of presentation of the primes. This difference is interpreted in the context of current models of speech production as an argument for the existence, at an automatic processing level, of two distinguishable kinds of meaning relatedness.     

Semantic negative priming in picture categorization and naming

Ignoring a particular stimulus can hamper subsequent attended processing of the same stimulus, a phenomenon known as 'negative priming'. Previous research has yielded partial support for the claim that the effect results from the attentional inhibition of central representations, as suggested by the fact that it appears to extend to semantic associates of ignored stimuli. In the current experiment, participants categorized or named pictorial stimuli with superimposed distractor pictures; the effect of unrelated, identical, or categorically related previously ignored pictures was investigated. Furthermore, visual similarity between categorically related picture pairs was manipulated in the naming task. The results indicated negative priming from identical ignored pictures irrespective of task. However, semantic negative priming was observed in the categorization task only. In the naming task, even visual overlap between categorically related picture pairs failed to induce negative priming. These findings argue against a central locus of the negative priming effect.     

Stress priming in picture naming: an SOA study

This study investigates whether or not the representation of lexical stress information can be primed during speech production. In four experiments, we attempted to prime the stress position of bisyllabic target nouns (picture names) having initial and final stress with auditory prime words having either the same or different stress as the target (e.g., WORtel-MOtor vs. koSTUUM-MOtor; capital letters indicate stressed syllables in prime-target pairs). Furthermore, half of the prime words were semantically related, the other half unrelated. Overall, picture names were not produced faster when the prime word had the same stress as the target than when the prime had different stress, i.e., there was no stress-priming effect in any experiment. This result would not be expected if stress were stored in the lexicon. However, targets with initial stress were responded to faster than final-stress targets. The reason for this effect was neither the quality of the pictures nor frequency of occurrence or voice-key characteristics. We hypothesize here that this stress effect is a genuine encoding effect, i.e., words with stress on the second syllable take longer to be encoded because their stress pattern is irregular with respect to the lexical distribution of bisyllabic stress patterns, even though it can be regular with respect to metrical stress rules in Dutch. The results of the experiments are discussed in the framework of models of phonological encoding.     

Masked repetition and phonological priming in picture naming

We report a series of picture naming experiments in which target pictures were primed by briefly presented masked words. Experiment 1 demonstrates that the prior presentation of the same word prime (e.g.,rose-rose) facilitates picture naming independently of the target’s name frequency. In Experiment 2, primes that were homophones of picture targets (e.g.,rows-rose) also produced facilitatory effects compared with unrelated controls, but priming was significantly larger for targets with low-frequency names relative to targets with high-frequency names. In Experiment 3, primes that were higher frequency homophones of picture targets produced facilitatory effects compared with identical primes. These results are discussed in relation to different accounts of the effects of masked priming in current models of picture naming.     

Decomposition of repetition priming components in picture naming

Cognitive mechanisms underlying repetition priming in picture naming were decomposed in several experiments. Sets of encoding manipulations meant to selectively prime or reduce priming in object identification or word production components of picture naming were combined factorially to dissociate processes underlying priming in picture naming. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 were conducted with Spanish-English bilingual participants and bilingual materials. Experiments 4, 5A, and 5B were single-language experiments in English or Spanish. A simple process model was used to formalize the theoretical predictions and test them across all experiments simultaneously. Object identification and word production processes were selectively influenced in an additive manner, which suggests that the 2 sets of processes are independent and sequential. The patterns of facilitation support a quantitative model of transfer-appropriate processing in which shared processes from encoding to test are the causal basis and speeded processes are the mechanism of facilitation.     

The masked onset priming effect in picture naming

Reading aloud is faster when targets (e.g., PAIR) are preceded by visually masked primes sharing just the onset (e.g., pole) compared to all different primes (e.g., take). This effect is known as the masked onset priming effect (MOPE). One crucial feature of this effect is its presumed non-lexical basis. This aspect of the MOPE is tested in the current study. Dutch participants named pictures having bisyllabic names, which were preceded by visually masked primes. Picture naming was facilitated by first-segment but not last-segment primes, and by first-syllable as well as last-syllable primes. Whole-word primes with first or last segment overlap slowed down picture naming latencies significantly. The first-segment priming effect (i.e., MOPE) cannot be accounted for by non-lexical response competition since pictures cannot be named via the non-lexical route. Instead, the effects obtained in this study can be accommodated by a speech-planning account of the MOPE.     

Automatic and strategic processes in picture naming

Prior presentation of related priming stimuli can facilitate responding to subsequent targets. However, recent research has demonstrated that inhibition effects can be produced by related primes when some of the primes in the testing sequence directly name their targets. This study used a picture-naming task, manipulating strength of relation between the prime word and the target picture, and the presence of identical primes in the testing sequence. Related primes facilitated naming when identical primes were absent, but not when they were present, whereas the strength effect did not vary as a function of identical-prime presence. A second experiment replicated the strength effect and showed that it was not affected by the presence or absence of primary associates in the testing sequence. A comparison-strategy explanation of the inhibition effect is proposed, in which the strategy is superimposed on an automatic activation of related information.     

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.     

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.     

A study of masked form priming in picture and word naming

We report a series of picture- and word-naming experiments in which the masked priming paradigm with prime exposures brief enough to prevent prime identification were used. Experiment 1 demonstrates that the prior presentation of the same word prime facilitates both picture and word naming independently of target frequency. In Experiments 2 and 3, primes that were pseudohomophones of picture targets produced facilitatory effects compared with orthographic controls, but these orthographically similar nonword primes did not facilitate picture naming compared with unrelated controls. On the other hand, word targets were primarily facilitated by orthographic prime— target overlap. This marked dissociation in the priming effects obtained with picture and word targets is discussed in relation to different explanations of masked form priming effects in visual word recognition and current models of picture and word naming.     

Persistent repetition priming in picture naming and its dissociation from recognition memory

The current experiments investigated the longevity of repetition priming and dissociations between different memory measures. Picture-naming latencies revealed robust repetition priming in four separate studies: Previously named pictures were named faster than new pictures. The magnitude of this naming facilitation was stable across 1 to 6 weeks. The apparent temporal invulnerability of repetition priming was in marked contrast to the decline in episodic recognition memory across 6 weeks, suggesting a dissociation between implicit and explicit memory. Additional evidence of this dissociation was observed within each session: Naming facilitation for repeated pictures occurred regardless of whether those particular pictures were consciously recognized.     

Syllabic priming effects in picture naming in French: lost in the sea!

Ferrand, Segui, and Grainger (1996) found robust syllable priming effects in picture naming latencies: Pictures primed with their initial syllable (e.g., ba for baleine [whale]) were processed faster than pictures primed with a string of letters shorter or longer than their initial syllable (e.g., bal for baleine). However, in several studies, these priming effects have not been replicated in word naming or in picture naming either in Dutch or in English (Schiller, 1998, 1999, 2000). The present study was aimed at replicating syllable priming effects in picture naming in French using a masked priming paradigm. The study employed a larger number of participants and items than were used in the Ferrand et al. (1996) study. The syllable priming effect in picture naming latencies was not replicated. Subsampling procedures were then used to examine the stability of the Ferrand et al. (1996) pattern of results in picture naming in greater detail. The syllabic priming effect in picture naming turned out to be an extremely rare event.     

Semantic priming over unrelated trials: Evidence for different effects in word and picture naming

Two naming experiments are reported that replicated previous findings of semantic interference as a result of naming related word or picture primes three trials before picture targets. We also examined whether semantic interference occurred when the materials were reversed and picture or word primes were named before word targets. The interest in semantic interference during word naming followed a suggestion made by Humphreys, Lloyd-Jones, and Fias (1995) that word naming, like picture naming, may be reliant on a semantic route to name retrieval when the two stimuli are mixed. In contrast to their findings, we found no evidence for semantic interference during target word naming; in fact, we found facilitation from related picture primes. No priming was found for the related word prime and word target condition. The data allow us to rule out the possibility that word naming is reliant on a semantic route when mixed with pictures in this priming paradigm and to conclude that there is no clear evidence of semantic activation during word naming. We also conclude, in line with other research, that word naming and picture naming involve different processes.     

Decomposition of repetition priming processes in word translation

Translation in fluent bilinguals requires comprehension of a stimulus word and subsequent production, or retrieval and articulation, of the response word. Four repetition-priming experiments with Spanish–English bilinguals (N = 274) decomposed these processes using selective facilitation to evaluate their unique priming contributions and factorial combination to evaluate the degree of process overlap or dependence. In Experiment 1, symmetric priming between semantic classification and translation tasks indicated that bilinguals do not covertly translate words during semantic classification. In Experiments 2 and 3, semantic classification of words and word-cued picture drawing facilitated word-comprehension processes of translation, and picture naming facilitated word-production processes. These effects were independent, consistent with a sequential model and with the conclusion that neither semantic classification nor word-cued picture drawing elicits covert translation. Experiment 4 showed that 2 tasks involving word-retrieval processes--written word translation and picture naming--had subadditive effects on later translation. Incomplete transfer from written translation to spoken translation indicated that preparation for articulation also benefited from repetition in the less-fluent language.     

Repetition priming in music

The authors explore priming effects of pitch repetition in music in 3 experiments. Musically untrained participants heard a short melody and sang the last pitch of the melody as quickly as possible. Each experiment manipulated (a) whether or not the tone to be sung (target) was heard earlier in the melody (primed) and (b) the prime-target distance (measured in events). Experiment 1 used variable-length melodies, whereas Experiments 2 and 3 used fixed-length melodies. Experiment 3 changed the timbre of the target tone. In all experiments, fast-responding participants produced repeated tones faster than nonrepeated tones, and this repetition benefit decreased as prime-target distances increased. All participants produced expected tonic endings faster than less expected nontonic endings. Repetition and tonal priming effects are compared with harmonic priming effects in music and with repetition priming effects in language.     

Semantic priming in number naming

The issue of semantic and non-semantic conversion routes for numerals is still debated in numerical cognition. We report two number-naming experiments in which the target numerals were preceded by another numeral (prime). The primes and targets could be presented either in arabic (digit) notation or in verbal (alphabetical) notation. The results reveal a semantically related distance effect: Latencies are fastest when the prime has the same value as the target and increase when the distance between prime and target increases. We argue that the present results are congruent with the idea that the numerals make access to an ordered semantic number line common to all notations, as the results are the same for within-notation priming (arabic-arabic or verbal- verbal) and between-notations priming (arabic-verbal or verbal-arabic). The present results also point to a rapid involvement of semantics in the naming of numerals, also when the numerals are words. As such, they are in line with recent claims of rapid semantic mediation in word naming.     

Associative priming in color naming: interference and facilitation

In Experiment 1, color-naming interference for target stimuli following associated primes was greater in a group making a lexical decision to the prime than in a group reading the prime silently. High-frequency targets were responded to more quickly than low-frequency targets. In Experiment 2, with subjects naming the prime, there was evidence of associative interference when the prime and the target were grouped temporally but not when the intertrial interval was comparable with the prime-target interval. Associative primes presented at a short (120-msec) prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony facilitated color naming in Experiment 3. Taken together, the results suggest that the effect of faster processing of the base word in a color-naming task is facilitatory and that color-naming priming interference arises when associative prime processing increases conflict between word and color responses by enhancing phonological or articulatory activation of the base word.     

Repetition priming in visual search: Episodic retrieval,not feature priming

Previous research has shown that when the targets of successive visual searches have features in common, response times are shorter. However, the nature of the representation underlying this priming and how priming is affected by the task remain uncertain. In four experiments, subjects searched for an odd-sized target and reported its orientation. The color of the items was irrelevant to the task. When target size was repeated from the previous trial, repetition of target color speeded the response. However, when target size was different from that in the previous trial, repetition of target color slowed responses, rather than speeding them. Our results suggest that these priming phenomena reflect the same automatic mechanism as the priming of pop-out reported by Maljkovic and Nakayama (1994). However, the crossover interaction between repetition of one feature and another rules out Maljkovic and Nakayama's (1994) theory of independent potentiation of distinct feature representations. Instead, we suggest that the priming pattern results from contact with an episodic memory representation of the previous trial.