Comparing length and frequency effects in children across modalities

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1682-1691
Author(s):  
Jana Hasenäcker ◽  
Luianta Verra ◽  
Sascha Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Phonological Decoding ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Length Effects

Although it is well established that beginning readers rely heavily on phonological decoding, the overlap of the phonological pathways used in visual and auditory word recognition is not clear. Especially in transparent languages, phonological reading could use the same pathways as spoken word processing. In the present study, we report a direct comparison of lexical decision performance in the visual and auditory modality in beginning readers of a transparent language. Using lexical decision, we examine how marker effects of length and frequency differ in the two modalities and how these differences are modulated by reading ability. The results show that both frequency and length effects are stronger in the visual modality, and the differences in length effects between modalities are more pronounced for poorer readers than for better readers. This suggests that visual word recognition in beginning readers of a transparent language initially is based on phonological decoding and subsequent matching in the phonological lexicon, especially for poor readers. However, some orthographic processing seems to be involved already. We claim that the relative contribution of the phonological and orthographic route in beginning readers can be measured by the differences in marker effects between auditory and visual lexical decision.

scholarly journals Inhibitory and facilitatory effects of phonological and orthographic similarity on L2 word recognition across modalities in bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Frances ◽  
Eugenia Navarra-Barindelli ◽  
Clara D. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Theoretical Implication ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Orthographic Similarity ◽  
Special Category

AbstractLanguage perception studies on bilinguals often show that words that share form and meaning across languages (cognates) are easier to process than words that share only meaning. This facilitatory phenomenon is known as the cognate effect. Most previous studies have shown this effect visually, whereas the auditory modality as well as the interplay between type of similarity and modality remain largely unexplored. In this study, highly proficient late Spanish–English bilinguals carried out a lexical decision task in their second language, both visually and auditorily. Words had high or low phonological and orthographic similarity, fully crossed. We also included orthographically identical words (perfect cognates). Our results suggest that similarity in the same modality (i.e., orthographic similarity in the visual modality and phonological similarity in the auditory modality) leads to improved signal detection, whereas similarity across modalities hinders it. We provide support for the idea that perfect cognates are a special category within cognates. Results suggest a need for a conceptual and practical separation between types of similarity in cognate studies. The theoretical implication is that the representations of items are active in both modalities of the non-target language during language processing, which needs to be incorporated to our current processing models.

scholarly journals The traces that novel morphologically complex words leave in memory are abstract in nature

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-218
Author(s):  
Laura de Vaan ◽  
Kobie Van Krieken ◽  
Winie Van den Bosch ◽  
Robert Schreuder ◽  
Mirjam Ernestus
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Familiarization Phase ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Experimental Part ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Identity Priming

Abstract Previous work has shown that novel morphologically complex words (henceforth neologisms) leave traces in memory after just one encounter. This study addressed the question whether these traces are abstract in nature or exemplars. In three experiments, neologisms were either primed by themselves or by their stems. The primes occurred in the visual modality whereas the targets were presented in the auditory modality (Experiment 1) or vice versa (Experiments 2 and 3). The primes were presented in sentences in a selfpaced reading task (Experiment 1) or in stories in a listening comprehension task (Experiments 2 and 3). The targets were incorporated in lexical decision tasks, auditory or visual (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, respectively), or in stories in a self-paced reading task (Experiment 3). The experimental part containing the targets immediately followed the familiarization phase with the primes (Experiment 1), or after a one week delay (Experiments 2 and 3). In all experiments, participants recognized neologisms faster if they had encountered them before (identity priming) than if the familiarization phase only contained the neologisms’ stems (stem priming). These results show that the priming effects are robust despite substantial differences between the primes and the targets. This suggests that the traces novel morphologically complex words leave in memory after just one encounter are abstract in nature.

scholarly journals Affective Valence of Words Differentially Affects Visual and Auditory Word Recognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanji Gao ◽  
Svetlana V. Shinkareva ◽  
Marius Peelen
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Asymmetric Effect ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Auditory Lexical Decision ◽  
Auditory Word ◽  
Auditory Word Recognition ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Decision Times

Recognizing written or spoken words involves a sequence of processing stages, transforming sensory features into lexical-semantic representations. While the later processing stages are common across modalities, the initial stages are modality-specific. In the visual modality, previous studies have shown that words with positive valence are recognized faster than neutral words. Here, we examined whether the effects of valence on word recognition are specific to the visual modality or are common across visual and auditory modalities. To address this question, we analyzed multiple large databases of visual and auditory lexical decision tasks, relating the valence of words to lexical decision times while controlling for a large number of variables, including arousal and frequency. We found that valence differentially influenced visual and auditory word recognition. Valence had an asymmetric effect on visual lexical decision times, primarily speeding up recognition of positive words. By contrast, valence had a symmetric effect on auditory lexical decision times, with both negative and positive words speeding up word recognition relative to neutral words. The modality-specificity of valence effects were consistent across databases and were observed when the same set of words were compared across modalities. We interpret these findings as indicating that valence influences word recognition partly at the sensory-perceptual stage. We relate these effects to the effects of positive (reward) and negative (punishment) reinforcers on perception.

scholarly journals Inhibitory and Facilitatory Effects of Phonological and Orthographic Similarity on Bilingual Word Recognition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Frances ◽  
Eugenia Navarra-Barindelli ◽  
Clara Martin
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Theoretical Implication ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Orthographic Similarity ◽  
Special Category

Abstract Language perception studies on bilinguals often show that words that share form and meaning across languages (cognates) are easier to process than words that share only meaning. This facilitatory phenomenon is known as the cognate effect. Most previous studies have shown this effect visually, whereas the auditory modality as well as the interplay between type of similarity and modality remain largely unexplored. In this study, highly proficient late Spanish-English bilinguals carried out a lexical decision task in their second language, both visually and auditorily. Words had high or low phonological and orthographic similarity, fully crossed. We also included orthographically identical words (perfect cognates). Our results suggest that similarity in the same modality (i.e., orthographic similarity in the visual modality and phonological similarity in the auditory modality) leads to improved signal detection, whereas similarity across modalities hinders it. We provide support for the idea that perfect cognates are a special category within cognates. Results suggest a need for a conceptual and practical separation between types of similarity in cognate studies. The theoretical implication is that the representations of items are active in both modalities of the non-target language during language processing, which needs to be incorporated to our current processing models.

scholarly journals Do ‘blacheap’ and ‘subcheap’ both prime ‘cheap’? An investigation of morphemic status and position in early visual word processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1645-1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Heathcote ◽  
Kate Nation ◽  
Anne Castles ◽  
Elisabeth Beyersmann
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Visual Word Recognition ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Morphological Relationship ◽  
Prime Target ◽  
Real Complex

Much research suggests that words comprising more than one morpheme are decomposed into morphemes in the early stages of visual word recognition. In the present masked primed lexical decision study, we investigated whether or not decomposition occurs for both prefixed and suffixed nonwords and for nonwords which comprise a stem and a non-morphemic ending. Prime–target relatedness was manipulated in three ways: (1) primes shared a semantically transparent morphological relationship with the target (e.g., subcheap-CHEAP, cheapize-CHEAP); (2) primes comprised targets and non-affixal letter strings (e.g., blacheap-CHEAP, cheapstry-CHEAP); and (3) primes were real, complex words unrelated to the target (e.g., miscall-CHEAP, idealism-CHEAP). Both affixed and non-affixed nonwords significantly facilitated the recognition of their stem targets, suggesting that embedded stems are activated independently of whether they are accompanied by a real affix or a non-affix. There was no difference in priming between stems being embedded in initial and final string positions, indicating that embedded stem activation is position-independent. Finally, more priming was observed in the semantically interpretable affixed condition than in the non-affixed condition, which points to a semantic licensing mechanism during complex novel word processing.

scholarly journals Altered Inhibitory Mechanisms in Parkinson’s Disease: Evidence From Lexical Decision and Simple Reaction Time Tasks

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alban Letanneux ◽  
Jean-Luc Velay ◽  
François Viallet ◽  
Serge Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Simple Reaction Time ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Simple Reaction

IntroductionAlthough the motor signs of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are well defined, nonmotor symptoms, including higher-level language deficits, have also been shown to be frequent in patients with PD. In the present study, we used a lexical decision task (LDT) to find out whether access to the mental lexicon is impaired in patients with PD, and whether task performance is affected by bradykinesia.Materials and MethodsParticipants were 34 nondemented patients with PD, either without (off) medication (n = 16) or under optimum (on) medication (n = 18). A total of 19 age-matched control volunteers were also recruited. We recorded reaction times (RTs) to the LDT and a simple RT (control) task. In each task, stimuli were either visual or auditory. Statistical analyses consisted of repeated-measures analyses of variance and Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests.ResultsIn the LDT, participants with PD both off and on medication exhibited intact access to the mental lexicon in both modalities. In the visual modality, patients off medication were just as fast as controls when identifying real words, but slower when identifying pseudowords. In the visual modality of the control task, RTs for pseudowords were significantly longer for PD patients off medication than for controls, revealing an unexpected but significant lexicality effect in patients that was not observed in the auditory modality. Performances of patients on medication did not differ from those of age-matched controls.DiscussionMotor execution was not slowed in patients with PD either off or on medication, in comparison with controls. Regarding lexical access, patients off medication seemed to (1) have difficulty inhibiting a cognitive-linguistic process (i.e., reading) when it was not required (simple reaction time task), and (2) exhibit a specific pseudoword processing deficit in the LDT, which may have been related to impaired lateral word inhibition within the mental lexicon. These deficits seemed to be compensated by medication.

scholarly journals Decoding the role of the cerebellum in the early stages of reading acquisition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hehui Li ◽  
Olga Kepinska ◽  
Jocelyn N Caballero ◽  
Leo Zekelman ◽  
Rebecca A. Marks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Reading Acquisition ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Cerebellar Hemisphere ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Arduous Task ◽  
The Right

Numerous studies have consistently reported functional activation of the cerebellum during reading tasks, especially in the right cerebellar hemisphere. However, it remains unclear whether these regions (or which region) are also involved in reading in the earliest stages of reading acquisition. Reading is an arduous task for beginning readers, which could occupy extensive cognitive processes, including domain general processes and language specific processes. It is to be determined which kinds of processes that the cerebellum is responsible for in early reading. Here, we investigated whether and how the cerebellum contributes to reading acquisition. We tested 80 5-6-year-old kindergarteners, who performed a visual word matching task during which functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected. We found that bilateral cerebellar hemispheres were significantly activated during visual word processing. Moreover, activation of left cerebellar lobule VIIa extends to lobule VIII negatively correlated with current reading ability, whereas activation of right cerebellar lobule lobule VIIb extends to lobule VIII predicted future reading ability. Functional decoding via Neurosynth and functional connectivity patterns further revealed that the left cerebellar Crus II was associated with domain general cognitive processes, whereas the right cerebellar lobule VIIb was linked to language specific processes. Our results suggest a division of labor between the left and right cerebellar lobules in beginning readers.

The multilingual lexicon

2007 ◽  
pp. 250-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ton Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
The World ◽  
Listening And Speaking

Although precise numbers are lacking, in the world at large there may be more multilinguals than monolinguals when we define “multilingualism” as the regular use of two or more languages. This prominence of multilingualism in the world has its consequences, of course, for educational systems (for example, with respect to foreign language teaching), but also for psycholinguistic research, because the language processing system might be differently organised in monolinguals and bilinguals. This article discusses structural, process, and context/control issues with respect to the multilingual lexicon, addressing the following questions: How are words stored in the mental lexicon of multilinguals? How does a multilingual retrieve words in reading, listening, and speaking? What is the effect of context and cognitive control on multilingual processing? What models have been proposed to account for the available data? What can cognitive neuroscience contribute to bilingualism? The article also looks at the process of multilingual word recognition, focusing on visual modality, auditory modality, models of bilingual word processing, multilingual word production, and contributions of cognitive neuroscience.

scholarly journals Phonologic Mediation is Fundamental to Reading: Evidence from Beginning Readers

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 715-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. T. Bosman ◽  
Annette de Groot
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Beginning Reading ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Skilled Reading ◽  
Advanced Readers

Three tasks were employed to investigate the role of assembled phonology in beginning readers. In two proofreading tasks, children had more trouble finding pseudohomophone misspellings (stimuli with phonology identical to that of a word) than control misspellings (stimuli that do not share their phonology with a word). In a lexical-decision task, they had more trouble deciding that pseudohomophone misspellings were non-words than deciding that control misspellings were non-words. Finally, in a semantic-categorization task, children had more trouble rejecting pseudohomophone misspellings as a member of a designated category than rejecting control misspellings. Differences between more and less advanced readers occurred, but they need not be attributed to differential use of phonology in word recognition. Instead, they were explained in terms of a difference between reader groups in spelling-verification efficiency. The results of the present studies on beginning reading parallel studies on skilled reading by Van Orden et al. (1992). The main conclusion was that assembled phonology plays an important role in word recognition in beginning readers.

The Relationship between Conceptual Tempo, Phonological Awareness, and Word Recognition in Beginning Readers

1981 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Tunmer ◽  
Claire M. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reading Acquisition ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Conceptual Tempo

An alternative explanation of the divergent findings appearing in the literature on conceptual tempo and reading acquisition is presented. The discussion yields three hypotheses, which are the focus of the present study: (1) conceptual tempo is related to phonological awareness; (2) the relationship between phonological awareness and reading ability (in beginning readers) is stronger than the relationship between conceptual tempo and reading ability; and (3) conceptual tempo and phonological awareness are differentially related to the recognition of real and synthetic words. Thirty-seven first grade children were individually administered tests of verbal intelligence, conceptual tempo, phonological awareness, and reading ability. The data indicate that phonological awareness is significantly correlated with conceptual tempo, that phonological awareness is related to synthetic word recognition, and that synthetic word recognition is highly correlated with real word recognition. The results are explained in terms of a model of reading acquisition that emphasizes the role of metalinguistic abilities in learning to read.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document