Semantic relatedness and the scope of facilitation for upcoming words in sentences.

Three experiments examined the generality of context effects displayed for congruous completions appearing in high- and low-constraint sentences. Exp 1 found an effect of context for a broader range of completions for low-constraint than high-constraint sentences. Lexical decisions for unexpected congruous words that were related in meaning to the most expected completion for the sentence showed a benefit from context in low-constraint sentences only. Unexpected words that were unrelated to the most expected completion never benefited from appearing in either high- or low-constraint sentence contexts. Exp 2 varied the semantic relatedness of the unexpected words within Ss and found that unrelated words still did not benefit from sentence context. Exp 3 included only low-constraint sentences to encourage Ss to develop broader expectations for upcoming words. Unrelated words continued not to display any benefit from context. It is concluded that the scope of facilitation for upcoming words demonstrated in a lexical decision task is wider for low-constraint than high-constraint sentences, but never includes unrelated, although acceptable, completions for the sentence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distance-dependent processing of pictures and words.

A series of 8 experiments investigated the association between pictorial and verbal representations and the psychological distance of the referent objects from the observer. The results showed that people better process pictures that represent proximal objects and words that represent distal objects than pictures that represent distal objects and words that represent proximal objects. These results were obtained with various psychological distance dimensions (spatial, temporal, and social), different tasks (classification and categorization), and different measures (speed of processing and selective attention). The authors argue that differences in the processing of pictures and words emanate from the physical similarity of pictures, but not words, to the referents. Consequently, perceptual analysis is commonly applied to pictures but not to words. Pictures thus impart a sense of closeness to the referent objects and are preferably used to represent such objects, whereas words do not convey proximity and are preferably used to represent distal objects in space, time, and social perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Directed forgetting: Comparing pictures and words.

The authors investigated directed forgetting as a function of the stimulus type (picture, word) presented at study and test. In an item-method directed forgetting task, study items were presented 1 at a time, each followed with equal probability by an instruction to remember or forget. Participants exhibited greater yes–no recognition of remember than forget items for each of the 4 study–test conditions (picture–picture, picture–word, word–word, word–picture). However, this difference was significantly smaller when pictures were studied than when words were studied. This finding demonstrates that the magnitude of the directed forgetting effect can be reduced by high item memorability, such as when the picture superiority effect is operating. This suggests caution in using pictures at study when the goal of an experiment is to examine potential group differences in the magnitude of the directed forgetting effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic interference effects on naming using a postcue procedure: Tapping the links between semantics and phonology with pictures and words.

Five experiments are reported in which a new technique for assessing the processes involved in mapping semantic representations onto name information in simple naming tasks was used. This technique, the postcue naming procedure, requires participants to name 1 of 2 potential target stimuli after they receive a relevant selection cue. Naming performance is slowed when the 2 potential targets are semantically related, relative to when they are unrelated. Effects on picture and word targets are of equal magnitude, providing these 2 types of stimulus are intermingled in the experiment. When words are presented alone, semantic interference is abolished (although evidence for lexical processing of words can be demonstrated). The effect on picture naming is also eliminated when the interfering stimulus has to be categorized rather than named. These results suggest that the locus of the interference is in the processes mapping semantic information onto names. These processes seem to be shared by pictures and words when the semantic processing of words is induced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immediate and delayed recall of words and pictures.

Examined free and serial recall of words and pictures associates in 3 experiments with 156 Ss. In immediate free recall, presentation of pictorial material increased only the secondary memory component of recall, relative to conditions involving presentation of verbal materials. No such facilitation occurred in immediate serial recall. In delayed recall tests, negative recency effects were obtained only for verbal materials, in both free and serial recall. Recency effects were either nonnegative or positive with pictures as to-be-remembered material. Results are discussed in terms of the locus of word-picture differences and the adequacy of verbal memory model explanations for them. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbalization effects in discrimination learning of pictures and words.

Compared discrimination learning of pairs of pictures (line drawings) and their verbal labels as a function of various verbalization conditions in a study with 128 undergraduates. Ss either (a) verbalized each item of a pair once (condition C1) or twice (condition C2), (b) verbalized the right item 3 times and the wrong item once (condition R), or (c) verbalized the right item once and the wrong item 3 times (condition W). The R and W conditions affected discrimination learning of both pictures and words in a way predictable from frequency theory, but pictures were easier to discriminate than words in conditions C1, R, and W. It is suggested that the results reflect the joint operation of verbal frequency and visual encoding processes in picture discrimination. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic interference and orthographic facilitation in definition naming.

Semantic interference and orthographic facilitation are common findings in Stroop-like color and picture-naming tasks. The authors investigated whether these context effects are also obtained when, instead of colors or pictures, definitions are used as target stimuli. In Exp 1, both effects were obtained when definitions of colors such as "the color of tomatoes?" had to be named. This finding was replicated in Exp 2, in which the definitions were taken from a larger set of semantic categories. The remaining 4 experiments showed that the semantic interference effect cannot be attributed to a strategic match or nonmatch decision (Exp 3) and does not show up when the distractor word precedes the definition (Exps 4, 5, and 6). The findings are discussed in relation to accounts of context effects in naming tasks and in relation to word-retrieval problems in the tip-of-the-tongue state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual representation of pictures and words: Reply to Clark.

Clark (1987) offers a dual coding alternative (Paivio, 1971, 1986) to the conceptual hypothesis that Potter, Kroll, Yachzel, Carpenter, and Sherman (1986) proposed to explain the ease with which people can read and understand rebus sentences in which a picture replaces a noun. We present theoretical and empirical reasons for positing a conceptual representation that is distinct from the representation of an object's name and from a mental image of it. The hierarchical conceptual model has greater explanatory and predictive power and is more parsimonious overall than Clark's alternative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic facilitation of lexical access during sentence processing.

In three experiments we investigated the effect of a sentence context on naming time for a target word. Contexts were presented by using a rapid serial visual presentation; subjects named the last word of the sentence. In the first two experiments, facilitation was observed for a fully congruent context containing a subject and verb that were weakly related to the target word. No facilitation was observed when either the subject or verb was replaced with a more neutral word. In the third experiment, the fully congruent contexts were modified either to preserve or to disrupt the original relation between the subject and verb. Facilitation was observed in both conditions. The full pattern of results suggests that a combination of lexical items can prime a target word in the absence of priming by any of the lexical items individually. This combination priming is not dependent upon the overall meaning of the sentence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic processing of previews within compound words.

Previous studies have suggested that previews of words prior to fixation can be processed orthographically, but not semantically, during reading of sentences (K. Rayner, D. A. Balota, & A. Pollatsek, 1986). The present study tested whether semantic processing of previews can occur within words. The preview of the second constituent of 2-constituent Finnish compound nouns was manipulated. The previews were either identical to the 2nd constituent or they were incorrect in the form of a semantically related word, a semantically unrelated word, or a semantically meaningless nonword. The results indicate that previews of 2nd constituents within compound words can be semantically processed. The results have important implications for understanding the nature of preview and compound word processing. These issues are crucial to developing comprehensive models of eye-movement control and word recognition during reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rhyme priming of pictures and words: A lexical activation account.

Orthographically/phonologically related primes have typically been found to facilitate processing of target words. This phenomenon is usually explained in terms of spreading activation between nodes for orthographically/phonologically similar words in lexical memory. The phenomenon was explored in a series of studies involving the manipulations of prime and target type (word or picture) and prime and target task (naming or categorization). Generally, the results support the lexical activation explanation. Named primes, which activate lexical memory, facilitate processing in all target tasks involving lexical access (word and picture naming and word categorization), independent of prime type. Categorized primes show the expected Prime Type?×?Relatedness interaction with word primes, which activate lexical memory, producing much more facilitation than picture primes. Finally, unlike in semantic priming studies, increased depth of processing of a word prime decreased the size of the priming effects. Apparently, initial activation levels in lexical memory are not maintained when semantic processing of the prime is required. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic priming between spoken words in adults and children.

Used an auditory lexical decision paradigm to determine occurrence of semantic priming between spoken words and to investigate the organization of the mental lexicon in preliterate children. 30 undergraduates and 24 1st-grade children (aged 6 yrs 2 mo to 7 yrs) were tested on a lexical decision task in which Ss had to decide whether pairs of spoken items were words. In both groups, significant facilitation was found for semantically related words compared with unrelated ones. Results indicate that semantic priming occurred in the auditory modality. The fact that children benefited at least as much from and often more than adults from an appropriate semantic context suggests that the lexicon of the child is organized in the same way as the adult's as early as 6 to 7 yrs of age. (French abstract) (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The time it takes bilinguals and monolinguals to draw pictures and write words.

In 4 experiments, picture-word translation was studied in Spanish-English bilinguals and English monolinguals. In Experiment 1, bilinguals drew pictures or wrote English or Spanish words for picture or English or Spanish word stimuli. Equivalent increases in production onset latency for cross-language/modality translation were found. In Experiment 2, bilinguals and monolinguals drew pictures or wrote English words for picture or English word stimuli. Cross-modality translation equivalence was replicated, though bilinguals were slower than monolinguals overall. In Experiment 3, bilinguals and monolinguals were equivalent when they drew or wrote names from pictures as blocked tasks. In Experiment 4, bilinguals replicated Experiment 1 but were faster for blocked than mixed tasks, indicating that stimulus-processing uncertainty slows them. Results support a revised concept mediation model, with equivalent semantic access for pictures and words for bilinguals and monolinguals (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neural correlates of the episodic encoding of pictures and words

A striking characteristic of human memory is that pictures are remembered better than words. We examined the neural correlates of memory for pictures and words in the context of episodic memory encoding to determine material-specific differences in brain activity patterns. To do this, we used positron emission tomography to map the brain regions active during encoding of words and pictures of objects. Encoding was carried out by using three different strategies to explore possible interactions between material specificity and types of processing. Encoding of pictures resulted in greater activity of bilateral visual and medial temporal cortices, compared with encoding words, whereas encoding of words was associated with increased activity in prefrontal and temporoparietal regions related to language function. Each encoding strategy was characterized by a distinctive activity pattern, but these patterns were largely the same for pictures and words. Thus, superior overall memory for pictures may be mediated by more effective and automatic engagement of areas important for visual memory, including medial temporal cortex, whereas the mechanisms underlying specific encoding strategies appear to operate similarly on pictures and words.     

Forgotten but not gone: Savings for pictures and words in long-term memory.

Five experiments examined the relearning of words, simple line-drawing pictures, and complex photographic pictures after retention intervals of 1 to 10 weeks. For those items that were neither recalled nor recognized, the identical item was relearned better than an unrelated control item, as measured by a recall test following relearning. This relearning advantage in recall held for all three classes of material and extended to the cross-modality case (i.e., picture–word and word–picture) and the same-referent case (i.e., two pictures of the same object). However, recognition tests of relearning failed to detect this same relearning advantage for apparently forgotten items. Taken together, these findings conflict with the existing account of savings. Most fundamental, the classic argument that relearning serves a trace-strengthening function is undermined by the observed recall-recognition contrast. An alternative explanation of savings is suggested wherein relearning assists retrieval of information, thereby affecting recall in particular. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognizing words and pictures in sentence contexts: A test of lexical modularity.

Words or pictures completed sentence fragments to form coherent or incoherent sentences. Ss made lexical decisions about words and object decisions about pictures. Modality was blocked in Exp 1 and mixed in Exp 2. In both experiments there were similar effects of context for words and pictures, contrary to the hypothesis that lexical priming produces the sentence context effect. Mixed conditions produced longer response latencies than blocked conditions but did not interact with the context effect. The finding of no interaction between the effect of context and the mixed-blocked manipulation supports a version of lexical modularity in which context effects arise as a function of post-access integration processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic interference, orthographic facilitation, and their interaction in naming tasks.

The relative merits of 3 views on the cause of the Stroop-like semantic interference effect in naming tasks were investigated in 2 experiments. In the 1st experiment, which consisted of a picture-word interference task, the authors found the usual Stroop-like semantic interference effect for distractor words that were not orthographically related to the picture's name. However, the semantic interference effect was significantly reduced when the distractor words were orthographically related to the picture's name. The results were replicated in the 2nd experiment by using a different paradigm in which, instead of pictures, definitions were used as target stimuli. The results are interpreted as favoring one of the views: a word-form retrieval account of the semantic interference effect in naming tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The time it takes elderly and young individuals to draw pictures and write words.

20 elderly and 20 young Ss drew pictures or wrote words for picture or word stimuli. Elderly Ss had slower response initiation than young Ss, especially when drawing. Beyond this, both age groups processed picture and word stimuli similarly. Elderly and young Ss exhibited equivalent latency increases for cross-modality trials (e.g., draw a picture given a word) over within-modality trials (e.g., draw a picture given a picture), regardless of stimulus or task modality. Strong support was found for a mathematical model of these results, which assumes age-related additive slowing for input and output subprocesses but age invariance for a cross-modality transfer subprocess. However, regressing elderly on young whole-condition latencies indicated general, multiplicative slowing: a discrepancy that questions the utility of the global Brinley plot procedure in revealing the nature of age-related slowing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond pictures and words: Alternative information-processing models for imagery effect in verbal memory.

Presents an information-processing approach to imagery effects in verbal memory tasks. A general model of the process of forming images from verbal input is developed, based on propositional memory representations like those used in computer simulations of sentence comprehension, visual scene analysis, and image processing. The general model is then refined in several classes of alternative models that attempt to account for imagery effects, with emphasis on sentence memory results, by using different mechanisms in the general model. The major division in the alternative models is whether the facilitation produced by imagery is due to the actual storage of image information or is just a by-product of image formation or the use of high-imagery materials. Some of the models are rejected on the basis of published data. Two of the remaining models would require substantial progress in the study of sentence memory and comprehension in a way not directly related to imagery. The models most likely to be successful are those that assume that the use of imagery results in the storage of redundant information that provides alternate retrieval routes. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)