The phenomenology of real and illusory tip-of-the-tongue states

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the phenomenological experience that a word is on the verge of being recalled. Most research has been directed at TOT etiology and at retrieval processes occurring during a TOT. In this study, TOT phenomenology was examined. In Experiment 1, strong TOTs were more likely than weak TOTs to be followed by correct recognition, and resolution (later recall) of TOTs was higher for strong than for weak TOTs, but only for commission errors. In Experiment 2, emotional TOTs were more likely to be resolved and recognized than nonemotional TOTs. In Experiment 3, imminence was defined as the feeling that retrieval is about to occur. Imminent TOTs were more likely to be followed by resolution and recognition than were nonimminent TOTs. Illusory TOTs (TOTs for unanswerable questions) tended to be weaker, less emotional, and less imminent than TOTs for answerable questions.     

The relation of tip-of-the-tongue states and retrieval time

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the phenomenological experience that a word is on the verge of being recalled. Participants rated TOTs as either emotional or nonemotional. In Experiment 1, given general-information questions, participants spent more time attempting retrieval during emotional TOTs than during nonemotional TOTs or n-TOTs (retrieval failures not accompanied by TOTs). Experiment 2 replicated the effect that TOTs show longer retrieval times than n-TOTs. In Experiment 3, with word definitions as stimuli, retrieval times were longer for emotional TOTs. Experiment 4 showed the same relation between retrieval times and TOTs even when participants made retrospective decisions about whether they had experienced a TOT before they retrieved the correct target. Valence of emotion was correlated with correct resolution of the TOT. These results are discussed in the context of a metacognitive model, in which TOTs serve to monitor and control cognition.     

Tip-of-the-tongue states reveal age differences in the syllable frequency effect

Syllable frequency has been shown to facilitate production in some languages but has yielded inconsistent results in English and has never been examined in older adults. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states represent a unique type of production failure where the phonology of a word is unable to be retrieved, suggesting that the frequency of phonological forms, like syllables, may influence the occurrence of TOT states. In the current study, we investigated the role of first-syllable frequency on TOT incidence and resolution in young (18-26 years of age), young-old (60-74 years of age), and old-old (75-89 years of age) adults. Data from 3 published studies were compiled, where TOTs were elicited by presenting definition-like questions and asking participants to respond with "Know," "Don't Know," or "TOT." Young-old and old-old adults, but not young adults, experienced more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency first syllables relative to high-frequency first syllables. Furthermore, age differences in TOT incidence occurred only for words with low-frequency first syllables. In contrast, when a prime word with the same first syllable as the target was presented during TOT states, all age groups resolved more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency syllables. These findings support speech production models that allow for bidirectional activation between conceptual, lexical, and phonological forms of words. Furthermore, the age-specific effects of syllable frequency provide insight into the progression of age-linked changes to phonological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

From tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) data to theoretical implications in two steps: when more TOTs means better retrieval

Two experiments in which participants named pictured objects with difficult or easier names, and a reanalysis and review of published data, reveal that problematic measures used in previous studies obscured the implications of group differences in tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) rates. In Experiment 1, increased age led to more TOTs for difficult but not easy targets. In Experiment 2, bilinguals had more TOTs than monolinguals for easy targets but fewer TOTs for difficult targets. The authors developed a theoretically motivated measure that clarifies the implications of TOT data by linking all responses elicited in the TOT paradigm with either success or failure in completing 2 retrieval steps in current models of language production. The 2-step analysis reveals a common mechanism for the age and bilingualism effects and implies that age has both positive and negative effects on retrieval.     

自然情境下舌尖效应的认知年老化——日记研究

舌尖效应是一种话到嘴边却说不出来的单词提取失败现象(Tip-of-the-Tongue, TOT)。本研究通过TOT回溯问卷和日记记录方法对青年人和老年人进行了为期28天的追踪, 考察了自然情境下舌尖效应认知年老化的发生特点及机制。结果表明：(1)自然情境下TOT存在认知老化现象, 老年人TOT发生频率比青年人更高; (2) TOT发生时, 个体存在替代词和语义相关信息的提取, 且青年人比老年人产生了更强烈的兴奋感和疲惫感的元认知体验; (3) TOT发生后目标词几乎都能获得提取, 老年人TOT的解决时间比青年人长, 但其解决率无年龄差异。TOT的解决时间受目标词熟悉性、是否存在替代词和个体主观体验的认知和元认知因素影响。(4)对TOT认知状态和元认知状态的记录会影响后续发生TOT的状态, 且延长其解决时间, 表明被试付出了更多努力和时间解决TOT。TOT的认知状态和元认知状态的因素都对TOT的解决时间产生了影响。     

双言舌尖现象的产生机制：来自粤语-普通话双言者的证据

舌尖现象(Tip-of-the-Tongue phenomenon, TOT)是言语产生中的一种常见现象。国外研究发现, 双语者和单语者的舌尖现象差异很大。双言和双语既相似, 又存在差异。以粤语–普通话双言者为被试, 比较了普通话熟练和不熟练的被试在使用不同语言命名时的TOT产生率。结果发现：(1)粤语–普通话双言者的TOT率受普通话熟练程度影响。普通话不熟练的粤语–普通话双言者用普通话命名时产生更高的TOT率。(2)语言启动能够调节粤语–普通话双言者的普通话熟练程度与TOT产生的关系。在语言启动条件下, 普通话熟练的粤语–普通话双言者的TOT率更高。(3)粤语–普通话双言者的TOT产生机制符合部分激活理论的预言。     

Illusory Tip-of-the-tongue States

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the phenomenological experience that a target word is on the verge of being recalled. An illusory TOT occurs when a person experiences a TOT, but the actual target is either unavailable, forgotten, or never learned. Illusory TOTs were induced by asking participants to answer questions that did not have correct answers. In Experiment 1, an episodic-memory paradigm, participants were shown fictional animals, some of which were accompanied by the animal's name (identified targets) and some of which were not (unidentified targets). Some participants experienced TOTs for unidentified targets. In Experiment 2, a semantic-memory paradigm, participants were asked generalinformation questions, some of which were questions with no correct answer. Every one of the 31 participants experienced at least one illusory TOT. The characteristics of illusory TOTs are discussed in light of inferential and directaccess views of TOTS.     

Gesture Helps,Only If You Need It: Inhibiting Gesture Reduces Tip-of-the-Tongue Resolution for Those With Weak Short-Term Memory

People frequently gesture when a word is on the tip of their tongue (TOT), yet research is mixed as to whether and why gesture aids lexical retrieval. We tested three accounts: the lexical retrieval hypothesis, which predicts that semantically related gestures facilitate successful lexical retrieval; the cognitive load account, which predicts that matching gestures facilitate lexical retrieval only when retrieval is hard, as in the case of a TOT; and the motor movement account, which predicts that any motor movements should support lexical retrieval. In Experiment 1 (a between-subjects study; N = 90), gesture inhibition, but not neck inhibition, affected TOT resolution but not overall lexical retrieval; participants in the gesture-inhibited condition resolved fewer TOTs than participants who were allowed to gesture. When participants could gesture, they produced more representational gestures during resolved than unresolved TOTs, a pattern not observed for meaningless motor movements (e.g., beats). However, the effect of gesture inhibition on TOT resolution was not uniform; some participants resolved many TOTs, while others struggled. In Experiment 2 (a within-subjects study; N = 34), the effect of gesture inhibition was traced to individual differences in verbal, not spatial short-term memory (STM) span; those with weaker verbal STM resolved fewer TOTs when unable to gesture. This relationship between verbal STM and TOT resolution was not observed when participants were allowed to gesture. Taken together, these results fit the cognitive load account; when lexical retrieval is hard, gesture effectively reduces the cognitive load of TOT resolution for those who find the task especially taxing.     

Illusory tip-of-the-tongue states.

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the phenomenological experience that a target word is on the verge of being recalled. An illusory TOT occurs when a person experiences a TOT, but the actual target is either unavailable, forgotten, or never learned. Illusory TOTs were induced by asking participants to answer questions that did not have correct answers. In Experiment 1, an episodic-memory paradigm, participants were shown fictional animals, some of which were accompanied by the animal's name (identified targets) and some of which were not (unidentified targets). Some participants experienced TOTs for unidentified targets. In Experiment 2, a semantic-memory paradigm, participants were asked general-information questions, some of which were questions with no correct answer. Every one of the 31 participants experienced at least one illusory TOT. The characteristics of illusory TOTs are discussed in light of inferential and direct-access views of TOTS.     

舌尖效应产生和解决的词汇提取年老化机制：两阶段范式研究

舌尖效应年老化机制受到语言特异性因素的影响。本研究把Stroop效应作为协变量,在统计分析控制个体抑制能力的基础上,采用两阶段范式考察舌尖效应产生和解决中词汇提取的年老化机制。结果发现：（1）老年人的舌尖效应产生率和语音提取缺陷均显著高于青年人,语义提取缺陷年龄差异不显著;（2）老年人的舌尖效应解决率和语音促进效应量均显著低于青年人;（3）语义启动影响老年人的舌尖效应解决,而对青年人没有影响。上述结果表明,舌尖效应产生和解决的年老化均与语音提取衰退有关,与语义提取衰退无关,支持语言特异性衰退的观点。     

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states: retrieval,behavior, and experience

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the feeling that accompanies temporary inaccessibility of an item that a person is trying to retrieve. TOTs have been studied experimentally since the seminal work of Brown and McNeill (1966). TOTs are experiences that accompany some failed or slow retrievals, and they can result in changes in retrieval behavior itself, allowing us to study the interplay among experience, retrieval, and behavior. We often attribute the experience of the TOT to the unretrieved target, but TOTs are based on a variety of cues, heuristics, or sources of evidence, such as partial information, related information, and cue familiarity, that predict the likelihood of overcoming retrieval failure. We present a synthesis of the direct-access view, which accounts for retrieval failure, and the heuristic–metacognitive view, which accounts for the experience of the TOT. We offer several avenues for future research and applications of TOT theory and data.     

Learning to fail: Reoccurring tip-of-the-tongue states

This experiment looked at elicited tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states to test the hypothesis that making an error once makes people more likely to make it again, via an implicit learning mechanism. We present a methodology that allows us to determine whether error reoccurrences are due to error learning or to the fact that some items tend to pose repeated difficulty to participants. We elicited TOTs by asking participants to supply the word that fitted a given definition. Each time participants indicated that they were experiencing a TOT they were randomly assigned a delay of either 10 or 30 seconds, during which they were asked to keep trying to retrieve the item. After the delay, the correct answer was supplied. We argue that this longer delay in a TOT state amounts to greater implicit learning of the erroneous state. A period of 48 hours later, participants returned to the laboratory and were asked to supply the words for the same definitions as those seen on Day 1. Results showed that TOTs were almost twice as likely to reoccur on words that had elicited a TOT and been followed by a long delay than on those that had been followed by a short delay.     

Phonological priming effects on word retrieval and tip-of-the-tongue experiences in young and older adults

In a repetition priming paradigm, young and older participants read aloud prime words that sometimes shared phonological components with a target word that answered a general knowledge question. In Experiment 1, prior processing of phonologically related words decreased tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) and increased correct responses to subsequent questions. In Experiment 2, the priming task occurred only when the participant could not answer the question. Processing phonologically related words increased correct recall, but only when the participant was in a TOT state. Phonological priming effects were age invariant, although older adults produced relatively more TOTs. Results support the transmission deficit model that the weak connections among phonological representations that cause TOTs are strengthened by production of phonologically related words. There was no evidence that phonologically related words block TOT targets.     

What is a TOT? Cognate and translation effects on tip-of-the-tongue states in Spanish-English and tagalog-English bilinguals

The authors induced tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) for English words in monolinguals and bilinguals using picture stimuli with cognate (e.g., vampire, which is vampiro in Spanish) and noncognate (e.g., funnel, which is embudo in Spanish) names. Bilinguals had more TOTs than did monolinguals unless the target pictures had translatable cognate names, and bilinguals had fewer TOTs for noncognates they were later able to translate. TOT rates for the same targets in monolinguals indicated that these effects could not be attributed to target difficulty. Two popular TOT accounts must be modified to explain cognate and translatability facilitation effects, and cross-language interference cannot explain bilinguals' increased TOTs rates. Instead the authors propose that, relative to monolinguals, bilinguals are less able to activate representations specific to each language.     

Age-related changes in word retrieval vary by self-reported anxiety but not depression symptoms

Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is wide variability in older adults’ TOT rates, suggesting that individual difference factors contribute to TOT incidence. We investigated the role of affect by examining the relationship between self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms and the frequency of TOTs during a laboratory task. Participants were young, middle-aged and older adults in a population-based sample of adults aged 18–87. Increased anxiety was associated with fewer TOTs for the middle-aged group but more TOTs for the older adult group. There was no relationship between anxiety and TOTs for younger adults and no relationships between depression symptoms and TOT incidence for any age group. We discuss our results in terms of attentional control theory, which provides an explanation of how age may affect the relationship between anxiety and TOTs.     

Learning to fail: reoccurring tip-of-the-tongue states

This experiment looked at elicited tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states to test the hypothesis that making an error once makes people more likely to make it again, via an implicit learning mechanism. We present a methodology that allows us to determine whether error reoccurrences are due to error learning or to the fact that some items tend to pose repeated difficulty to participants. We elicited TOTs by asking participants to supply the word that fitted a given definition. Each time participants indicated that they were experiencing a TOT they were randomly assigned a delay of either 10 or 30 seconds, during which they were asked to keep trying to retrieve the item. After the delay, the correct answer was supplied. We argue that this longer delay in a TOT state amounts to greater implicit learning of the erroneous state. A period of 48 hours later, participants returned to the laboratory and were asked to supply the words for the same definitions as those seen on Day 1. Results showed that TOTs were almost twice as likely to reoccur on words that had elicited a TOT and been followed by a long delay than on those that had been followed by a short delay.     

The phenomenon of the tip of the tongue in aging

This paper presents new data on the tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon and its resolution in aging. 140 volunteers ranging from 19 to 82 years participated in an experiment using definitions about common names, proper names, adjectives and verbs to elicit TOTs. We studied the resolution of the TOTs introducing a free word-recall task and a priming task. Older adults experienced more TOTs than younger adults regardless of the level of vocabulary. Phonological priming, and not free recall of words, improved resolution for the older adults. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of the transmission deficit.     

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: do experimenter-presented interlopers have any effect?

When a person is in a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state, they will sometimes recall a word that is similar in sound to the word they are attempting to retrieve. Woodworth (1929) argued that these interloper words both cause and sustain TOT states, whereas Brown and McNeill (1966) suggested that they are part of the process that leads to TOT resolution. Jones and Langford (1987) and Jones (1989) explicitly presented interloper words along with definitions of words that subjects were asked to recall. They reported that interlopers that were phonologically related to the target word increased the incidence of TOTs and concluded that this supported Woodworth's position. In three experiments, we adopted the interloper paradigm, but also included a control group who heard the definitions without interloper words. In Experiment 1, the definitions that Jones used with phonological interlopers created more TOTs even when no interlopers were presented. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we matched definitions for the number of TOTs they produced in the absence of interlopers. Under these circumstances we found no effect of interloper words at all. We conclude that there is no evidence from this paradigm to support the idea that interloper words are involved in either the causation or resolution of TOTs.     

The effect of being in a tip-of-the-tongue state on subsequent items

The tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) is the feeling that an inaccessible item will be recalled. In the TOT induction paradigm, participants are given a list of general information questions or word definitions, and the participants indicate whether they are in a TOT for each item. The present study explored the effect that being in a TOT for one item (N) has on the recall and the likelihood of a TOT for the subsequent item (N + 1). Three experiments were conducted. All three experiments showed that TOTs do not affect the rate of recall for the next item but decrease the likelihood of a TOT for the next item. This effect extended to items occurring two items after the initial TOT (N + 2) in two experiments. Thus, TOTs are less likely to occur after another TOT than after an item not in a TOT. These data are interpreted within a metacognitive framework.     

Lack of laterality effect for monaural categorization of VOT and TOT stimuli

Sixteen right-handed males were tested for lateral preference and consistency of identification of stimuli differing in voice-onset time (VOT) or tone-onset time (TOT). A continuum of 10 stimuli of each type was presented monaurally to the right and left ears, and reaction times (RTs) were recorded each time a participant indicated a choice between a voiced [da] and a voiceless [ta] alternative for VOT, or between the presence of one type of tone or another for TOT. Results indicated that both classes of stimuli were perceived as having unique boundaries, with the TOT boundary being lower than that of the VOT continuum. VOTs were identified more quickly than TOTs, and the two ears did not differ in consistency or speed of identification for either condition. Results cannot be used to support the idea that the two hemispheres process voice-onset time differently than tone-onset asynchronies. In view of the absence of a right ear advantage for VOT, however, the use of a monaural task for eliciting hemispheric asymmetries is not recommended.