Task choice and semantic interference in picture naming

Evidence from dual-task performance indicates that speakers prefer not to select simultaneous responses in picture naming and another unrelated task, suggesting a response selection bottleneck in naming. In particular, when participants respond to tones with a manual response and name pictures with superimposed semantically related or unrelated distractor words, semantic interference in naming tends to be constant across stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) between the tone stimulus and the picture–word stimulus. In the present study, we examine whether semantic interference in picture naming depends on SOA in case of a task choice (naming the picture vs reading the word of a picture–word stimulus) based on tones. This situation requires concurrent processing of the tone stimulus and the picture–word stimulus, but not a manual response to the tones. On each trial, participants either named a picture or read aloud a word depending on the pitch of a tone, which was presented simultaneously with picture–word onset or 350 ms or 1000 ms before picture–word onset. Semantic interference was present with tone pre-exposure, but absent when tone and picture-word stimulus were presented simultaneously. Against the background of the available studies, these results support an account according to which speakers tend to avoid concurrent response selection, but can engage in other types of concurrent processing, such as task choices.     

语义相似性与类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响

采用基本水平命名和类别水平命名任务, 通过2个实验, 考察了图-词之间的语义相似性与类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响。实验1发现, 图片命名时间在语义相似性高的干扰词条件下显著快于在语义相似性低的干扰词条件下, 但这种效应只出现在基本水平命名任务中, 未出现在类别水平命名任务中。图-词之间的语义相似性高低对低熟悉图片命名影响大, 对高熟悉图片命名影响小。实验2显示, 语义关联的干扰词对图片的基本水平命名产生了语义干扰效应, 对图片的类别水平命名产生了语义促进效应。类别大小强化了语义效应：类别大, 图片的基本水平命名的语义干扰效应更大, 图片的类别水平命名的语义促进效应更强。整个研究表明, 图-词之间的语义关联的强度影响语义效应的方向, 图-词之间的语义关联的广度影响语义效应的强弱。需要结合多种理论来解释图-词之间的语义相似性和类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响。     

Exploring the time course of semantic interference and associative priming in the picture–word interference task

The picture–word interference (PWI) task is a widely used technique for exploring effects of semantic context on lexical access. In this task, printed words are superimposed over pictures to be named, with the timing of the interfering word relative to the picture systematically manipulated. Two experiments (N = 24 adults in each) explored the time course of effects of associates (e.g., CARROT superimposed on a picture of a rabbit) versus coordinates (e.g., CHIPMUNK superimposed on a picture of a rabbit) on naming latencies. Associates led to faster picture naming than did unrelated words, with facilitative effects occurring at stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs, in ms) ranging from –450 to 0. Coordinates led to slower naming latencies, with the interference effect restricted to SOAs of –150 and 0. The overlapping time course of associative priming and coordinate interference provides important constraints on models of lexical access in speech production.     

Semantic picture-word interference is a postperceptual effect

Naming a picture is slower while ignoring a semantically related versus an unrelated distractor word (semantic picture–word interference, or PWI). To locate the PWI effect in the word production processing stream (during perceptual encoding, response selection, or afterward), we used the psychological refractory period paradigm, in which participants identified a tone and then, at varying SOAs, named a picture while ignoring a semantically related or unrelated word (following Dell’Acqua, Job, Peressotti, & Pascali, 2007). As in results from the Stroop paradigm (Fagot & Pashler, 1992), we found equivalent PWI effects at short and long SOAs following tone identification in two experiments, indicating that semantic competition occurs at response selection or later. Our results suggest that it is premature to assume that competitive selection occurs at multiple levels in the word production system (van Maanen, van Rijn, & Borst, 2009) or that the Stroop and semantic PWI effects are fundamentally different (Dell’Acqua et al., 2007).     

Exploring the time course of semantic interference and associative priming in the picture-word interference task

The picture-word interference (PWI) task is a widely used technique for exploring effects of semantic context on lexical access. In this task, printed words are superimposed over pictures to be named, with the timing of the interfering word relative to the picture systematically manipulated. Two experiments (N = 24 adults in each) explored the time course of effects of associates (e.g., CARROT superimposed on a picture of a rabbit) versus coordinates (e.g., CHIPMUNK superimposed on a picture of a rabbit) on naming latencies. Associates led to faster picture naming than did unrelated words, with facilitative effects occurring at stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs, in ms) ranging from -450 to 0. Coordinates led to slower naming latencies, with the interference effect restricted to SOAs of -150 and 0. The overlapping time course of associative priming and coordinate interference provides important constraints on models of lexical access in speech production.     

Working memory capacity and dual-task interference in picture naming

Researchers have found no agreement on whether dual-task interference in language performance, such as dual-task interference from tone discrimination on picture naming, reflects passive queuing or active scheduling of processes for each task. According to a passive-queuing account, while a central response-selection bottleneck is occupied by the tone discrimination task, picture naming is held in a passive queue until the bottleneck is freed. In contrast, according to an active-scheduling account, participants determine the order in which the tasks proceed, monitor progress on the tasks, suspend picture naming and hold it in working memory, and determine when to resume picture naming. Here, we report a study that assessed the relative merits of the queuing and scheduling accounts by examining whether the magnitude of dual-task interference in picture naming is associated with individual differences in the capacity of monitoring and updating of working memory representations, as assessed by the operation-span task. We observed that the updating/monitoring ability correlated with the speed of picture naming and with the magnitude of the interference from tone discrimination on picture naming. These results lend support to the active-scheduling account of dual-task interference in picture naming.     

Semantic interference in a delayed naming task: evidence for the response exclusion hypothesis

In 2 experiments participants named pictures of common objects with superimposed distractor words. In one naming condition, the pictures and words were presented simultaneously on every trial, and participants produced the target response immediately. In the other naming condition, the presentation of the picture preceded the presentation of the distractor by 1,000 ms, and participants delayed production of their naming response until distractor word presentation. Within each naming condition, the distractor words were either semantic category coordinates of the target pictures or unrelated. Orthogonal to this manipulation of semantic relatedness, the frequency of the pictures' names was manipulated. The authors observed semantic interference effects in both the immediate and delayed naming conditions but a frequency effect only in the immediate naming condition. These data indicate that semantic interference can be observed when target picture naming latencies do not reflect the bottleneck at the level of lexical selection. In the context of other findings from the picture-word interference paradigm, the authors interpret these data as supporting the view that the semantic interference effect arises at a postlexical level of processing.     

The effects of thematic relations on picture naming abilities across the lifespan

A picture–word interference paradigm tracked patterns of activation during picture naming in 87 individuals (age range 17–80 years old). Distractor words were presented at stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of ?200, ?100, and 0 ms bearing a has a-, location, or no relationship to the picture. Analyses of group naming reaction times revealed significant facilitation effects for both semantic relation types for all age groups. Analyses of temporal patterns of activation revealed significant effects primarily at SOAs of ?200 and ?100 ms. These findings provide evidence that both thematic relations are particularly salient in how semantic knowledge is organized, and that the patterns of effects from these semantic relations remain the same as one ages.     

Selective and nonselective inhibition of competitors in picture naming

The present study examined the relation between nonselective inhibition and selective inhibition in picture naming performance. Nonselective inhibition refers to the ability to suppress any unwanted response, whereas selective inhibition refers to the ability to suppress specific competing responses. The degree of competition in picture naming was manipulated by presenting targets along with distractor words that could be semantically related (e.g., a picture of a dog combined with the word cat) or unrelated (tree) to the picture name. The mean naming response time (RT) was longer in the related than in the unrelated condition, reflecting semantic interference. Delta plot analyses showed that participants with small mean semantic interference effects employed selective inhibition more effectively than did participants with larger semantic interference effects. The participants were also tested on the stop-signal task, which taps nonselective inhibition. Their performance on this task was correlated with their mean naming RT but, importantly, not with the selective inhibition indexed by the delta plot analyses and the magnitude of the semantic interference effect. These results indicate that nonselective inhibition ability and selective inhibition of competitors in picture naming are separable to some extent.     

Capacity demands of phoneme selection in word production: new evidence from dual-task experiments

Three dual-task experiments investigated the capacity demands of phoneme selection in picture naming. On each trial, participants named a target picture (Task 1) and carried out a tone discrimination task (Task 2). To vary the time required for phoneme selection, the authors combined the targets with phonologically related or unrelated distractor pictures (Experiment 1) or words, which were clearly visible (Experiment 2) or masked (Experiment 3). When pictures or masked words were presented, the tone discrimination and picture naming latencies were shorter in the related condition than in the unrelated condition, which indicates that phoneme selection requires central processing capacity. However, when the distractor words were clearly visible, the facilitatory effect was confined to the picture naming latencies. This pattern arose because the visible related distractor words facilitated phoneme selection but slowed down speech monitoring processes that had to be completed before the response to the tone could be selected.     

Distributional analysis of semantic interference in picture naming

In picture–word interference experiments, participants name pictures (e.g., of a cat) while trying to ignore distractor words. Mean response time (RT) is typically longer with semantically related distractor words (e.g., dog) than with unrelated words (e.g., shoe), called semantic interference. Previous research has examined the RT distributional characteristics of distractor effects by performing ex-Gaussian analyses, which reveal whether effects are present in the normal part of the distribution (the μ parameter), its long right tail (the τ parameter), or both. One previous study linked the semantic interference effect selectively to the distribution tail. In the present study, we replicated the semantic interference effect in the mean picture naming RTs. Distributional analysis of the RTs and those of a previous study revealed that semantic interference was present in both μ and τ. These results provide evidence that the effect is not selectively linked to the τ parameter, and they warn against any simple one-to-one mapping between semantic interference and distributional parameters.     

延迟命名任务中图词干扰效应的眼动研究

采用图-词分离呈现及眼动技术探讨在延时命名条件下图-词干扰效应发生的位置。结果发现：（1）延时命名图片时,仍出现图-词干扰效应和频率效应;（2）与命名干扰词相比,命名图片时图片的回视率高,注视时间长;（3）图片的注视时间也出现频率效应和图-词干扰效应。这说明即使在延时命名图片的条件下,目标词汇仍需要再次激活,频率效应和图-词干扰效应是发生在词汇化过程中,反驳反应排除理论的图-词干扰反应选择阶段的观点,支持了词汇化选择竞争的理论。     

Writing words from pictures: What representations are activated, and when?

In three experiments, the nature of the representations involved in written picture naming and the time course of their activation were investigated. French participants had to produce picture names while hearing distractors. In Experiment 1, distractors semantically related to the picture names yielded a semantic interference effect when a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of--150 msec, but not when a SOA of 0 msec, was used, in both spoken and written picture naming. Experiment 2 showed that the semantic interference effect was not located at the conceptual level. In Experiment 3, participants wrote down picture names while hearing semantically related, phonologically related, both semantically and phonologically related, or unrelated distractors, presented at both SOAs. A semantic interference effect was obtained with phonologically unrelated distractors but was eliminated with phonologically related distractors. Facilitatory effects of phonologically related distractors were found at both SOAs. The implications of the findings for written picture naming are discussed.     

图词间隔时间影响口语词汇产生中语义效应的机制：图词干扰范式研究

口语词汇产生过程中存在语义抑制和语义促进效应, 可能发生在概念准备和词汇选择或者后词汇水平阶段。本研究采用图画-词汇干扰实验任务, 变化图画与词汇出现点之间的时间间隔(stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA), 运用脑电技术考察口语词汇产生中语义效应发生的时间进程。结果显示, 当SOA为0 ms时表现出语义抑制效应, 语义效应发生在词汇选择阶段(344~418 ms); 当SOA为-400 ms时, 语义效应发生在概念准备阶段(0~76 ms)和词汇选择阶段(274~390 ms); 460~594 ms时间窗口内的语义效应可能表明讲话者对语义信息的自我监测。词汇产生中存在语义促进效应和抑制效应的权衡, 影响了行为结果中语义效应的方向, 上述发现支持了口语词汇产生的词汇竞争假说。     

Feature overlap slows lexical selection: Evidence from the picture–word interference paradigm

How does the presence of a categorically related word influence picture naming latencies? In order to test competitive and noncompetitive accounts of lexical selection in spoken word production, we employed the picture–word interference (PWI) paradigm to investigate how conceptual feature overlap influences naming latencies when distractors are category coordinates of the target picture. Mahon et al. (2007. Lexical selection is not by competition: A reinterpretation of semantic interference and facilitation effects in the picture-word interference paradigm. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(3), 503–535. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.33.3.503) reported that semantically close distractors (e.g., zebra) facilitated target picture naming latencies (e.g., HORSE) compared to far distractors (e.g., whale). We failed to replicate a facilitation effect for within-category close versus far target–distractor pairings using near-identical materials based on feature production norms, instead obtaining reliably larger interference effects (Experiments 1 and 2). The interference effect did not show a monotonic increase across multiple levels of within-category semantic distance, although there was evidence of a linear trend when unrelated distractors were included in analyses (Experiment 2). Our results show that semantic interference in PWI is greater for semantically close than for far category coordinate relations, reflecting the extent of conceptual feature overlap between target and distractor. These findings are consistent with the assumptions of prominent competitive lexical selection models of speech production.     

Activation of semantic information at the sublexical level during handwriting production: Evidence from inhibition effects of Chinese semantic radicals in the picture‐word interference paradigm

Using a non‐alphabetic language (e.g., Chinese), the present study tested a novel view that semantic information at the sublexical level should be activated during handwriting production. Over 80% of Chinese characters are phonograms, in which semantic radicals represent category information (e.g., 椅 ‘chair,’ 桃 ‘peach,’ 橙 ‘orange’ are related to plants) while phonetic radicals represent phonetic information (e.g., 狼 ‘wolf,’ 朗 ‘brightness,’ 郎 ‘male,’ are all pronounced /lang/). Under different semantic category conditions at the lexical level (semantically related in Experiment 1; semantically unrelated in Experiment 2), the orthographic relatedness and semantic relatedness of semantic radicals in the picture name and its distractor were manipulated under different SOAs (i.e., stimulus onset asynchrony, the interval between the onset of the picture and the onset of the interference word). Two questions were addressed: (1) Is it possible that semantic information could be activated in the sublexical level conditions? (2) How are semantic and orthographic information dynamically accessed in word production? Results showed that both orthographic and semantic information were activated under the present picture‐word interference paradigm, dynamically under different SOAs, which supported our view that discussions on semantic processes in the writing modality should be extended to the sublexical level. The current findings provide possibility for building new orthography‐phonology‐semantics models in writing.     

Semantic interference in language production is due to graded similarity,not response relevance

There is an ongoing debate on the question whether semantic interference effects in language production reflect competitive processes at the level of lexical selection or whether they reflect a post-lexical bottleneck, occupied in particular by response-relevant distractor words. To disentangle item-inherent categorical relatedness and task-related response relevance effects, we combined the picture–word interference task with the conditional naming paradigm in an orthogonal design, varying categorical relatedness and task-related response relevance independent of each other. Participants were instructed to name only objects that are typically seen in or on the water (e.g. canoe) and refrain from naming objects that are typically located outside the water (e.g. bike), and vice versa. Semantic relatedness and the response relevance of superimposed distractor words were manipulated orthogonally. The pattern of results revealed no evidence for response relevance as a major source of semantic interference effects in the PWI paradigm. In contrast, our data demonstrate that semantic similarity beyond categorical relations is critical for interference effects to be observed. Together, these findings provide support for the assumption that lexical selection is competitive and that semantic interference effects in the PWI paradigm reflect this competition.     

Teaching adults new words: the role of practice and consolidation

Semantic and orthographic learning of new words was investigated with the help of the picture-word interference (PWI) task. In this version of the Stroop task, picture naming is delayed by the simultaneous presentation of a semantically related as opposed to an unrelated distractor word (a specific PWI effect), as well as by an unrelated word compared with a nonword (a general PWI effect). This interference is taken to reflect automatic orthographic and semantic processing. The authors observed that participants showed both types of PWI effects for newly learned words following a single study session. Interestingly, specific PWI effects were not obtained immediately after testing but did emerge a week later without additional practice. This suggests that a period of consolidation is involved in the establishment of word representations. In addition, identical PWI effects were obtained when the study and test words were presented in either the same or different letter case. This provides evidence that the newly acquired orthographic representations are coded in an abstract format.     

The picture-word interference effect is not a Stroop effect

A psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm was used to isolate the locus of the picture-word interference effect along the chain of processes subtended in name production. Two stimuli were presented sequentially on each trial, separated by a varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). The first stimulus, SI, was a tone that required a manual response. The second stimulus, S2, was a picture-word stimulus associated with picture naming. The distractor word was conceptually related to the picture on half of the trials, and unrelated in the other trials. A picture-word interference effect was found at long SOA, but not at short SOA. Such underadditive interaction between SOA and semantic relatedness suggests strongly that the locus of the picture-word interference effect is functionally earlier than the PRP effect locus. The results are discussed in relation to models of word production suggesting the involvement of central mechanisms in the selection of lexical output.     

Locus of semantic interference in picture-word interference tasks

Picture#x2014;word interference studies typically show that semantically related distractor words embedded within a picture slow picture-naming responses, relative to unrelated ones. This semantic interference effect is commonly interpreted as arising from the competition of lexical#x2014;semantic (e.g., Schriefers, Meyer, & Levelt, 1990) or lexical#x2014;phonological (e.g., Starreveld & La Heij, 1996) codes. The experiment reported here tests a crucial assumption shared by these accounts#x2014;namely, that the effect reflects a lexical, rather than a nonverbal, conceptual conflict. Pictures were named while participants attempted to ignore embedded distractors that were in either verbal or pictorial format. The presence of both words and pictures substantially interfered with naming responses, but only words, not pictures, were found to induce semantic interference. These findings support the claim that for semantic interference to arise, both target picture and distractor have to be lexicalized. Consequently, a general conceptual locus of the effect can be excluded, and the claim that semantic interference is based on a lexical conflict is confirmed.