scholarly journals Lexical prediction in language comprehension: a replication study of grammatical gender effects in Dutch

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Kochari ◽  
Monique Flecken
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Predictive Language Processing

[This is a postprint/accepted version of the manuscript. It is now published: https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2018.1524500 . Please cite the published version.] An important question in predictive language processing is the extent to which prediction effects can reliably be measured on pre-nominal material (e.g., articles before nouns). Here, we present a large sample (N=58) close replication of a study by Otten and van Berkum [2009, Does working memory capacity affect the ability to predict upcoming words in discourse? Brain Research, 1291, 92–101. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.07.042]. They report ERP modulations in relation to the predictability of nouns in sentences, measured on gender-marked Dutch articles. We used nearly identical materials, procedures, and data analysis steps. We fail to replicate the original effect, but do observe a pattern consistent with the original data. Methodological differences between our replication and the original study that could potentially have contribute to the diverging results are discussed. In addition, we discuss the suitability of Dutch gender-marked determiners as a test-case for future studies of pre-activation of lexical items.

An Examination of Verbal Working Memory Capacity in Children With Specific Language Impairment

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1249-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Ellis Weismer ◽  
Julia Evans ◽  
Linda J. Hesketh
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Specific Language

This study investigated verbal working memory capacity in children with specific language impairment (SLI). The task employed in this study was the Competing Language Processing Task (CLPT) developed by Gaulin and Campbell (1994). A total of 40 school-age children participated in this investigation, including 20 with SLI and 20 normal language (NL) age-matched controls. Results indicated that the SLI and NL groups performed similarly in terms of true/false comprehension items, but that the children with SLI evidenced significantly poorer word recall than the NL controls, even when differences in nonverbal cognitive scores were statistically controlled. Distinct patterns of word-recall errors were observed for the SLI and NL groups, as well as different patterns of associations between CLPT word recall and performance on nonverbal cognitive and language measures. The findings are interpreted within the framework of a limited-capacity model of language processing.

Incorporating semantics and individual differences in models of working memory

2003 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 742-742
Author(s):  
Janice M. Keenan ◽  
Jukka Hyönä ◽  
Johanna K. Kaakinen
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
General Capacity ◽  
Capacity Estimates

Ruchkin et al.'s view of working memory as activated long-term memory is more compatible with language processing than models such as Baddeley's, but it raises questions about individual differences in working memory and the validity of domain-general capacity estimates. Does it make sense to refer to someone as having low working memory capacity if capacity depends on particular knowledge structures tapped by the task?

Construct operationalization, L1 effects, and context in second language processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN JUFFS
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Second Language Processing

Cunnings (2016) provides welcome insights into differences between native speaker (NS) sentence processing, adult non-native speaker processing (NNS), and working memory capacity (WMC) limitations. This commentary briefly raises three issues: construct operationalization; the role of first language (L1); and context.

scholarly journals Verbal working memory assessment in Russian-Brazilian Portuguese bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. e572
Author(s):  
Aleksandra S. Skorobogatova ◽  
Anna Smirnova Henriques ◽  
Svetlana Ruseishvili ◽  
Irina Sekerina ◽  
Sandra Madureira
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
First Generation Immigrants ◽  
Memory Assessment

In Brazil, the learning of a second language (L2) by native Brazilian Portuguese speakers has been extensively explored, but studies on language processing and language interaction among bilinguals are quite recent. The late bilingualism of the first-generation immigrants has been studied mainly from the perspective of their difficulties in learning Brazilian Portuguese. Brazil has numerous communities of heritage speakers of many languages such as Japanese, German, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. However, the number of studies that focus on the bilingual speech of heritage speakers in Brazil is also quite limited. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the working memory in Russian-Brazilian Portuguese bilinguals as a function of the language and type of bilingualism. For this purpose, 49 first-generation Russophone immigrants and 28 older Russian heritage speakers, all residing in Brazil, were tested in Russian and Portuguese using a Month-Ordering task. We found that the working memory scores of the first-generation Russophone immigrants were not statistically different between both languages, but the median working memory score of the older Russian heritage speakers in Russian was 1.5-fold lower than in Portuguese. As next steps, we plan to verify the relation between the working memory capacity and narrative production abilities of the older Russian heritage-Brazilian Portuguese bilinguals in their heritage and societal languages.

scholarly journals Processing Load Induced by Informational Masking Is Related to Linguistic Abilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Koelewijn ◽  
Adriana A. Zekveld ◽  
Joost M. Festen ◽  
Jerker Rönnberg ◽  
Sophia E. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds

It is often assumed that the benefit of hearing aids is not primarily reflected in better speech performance, but that it is reflected in less effortful listening in the aided than in the unaided condition. Before being able to assess such a hearing aid benefit the present study examined how processing load while listening to masked speech relates to inter-individual differences in cognitive abilities relevant for language processing. Pupil dilation was measured in thirty-two normal hearing participants while listening to sentences masked by fluctuating noise or interfering speech at either 50% and 84% intelligibility. Additionally, working memory capacity, inhibition of irrelevant information, and written text reception was tested. Pupil responses were larger during interfering speech as compared to fluctuating noise. This effect was independent of intelligibility level. Regression analysis revealed that high working memory capacity, better inhibition, and better text reception were related to better speech reception thresholds. Apart from a positive relation to speech recognition, better inhibition and better text reception are also positively related to larger pupil dilation in the single-talker masker conditions. We conclude that better cognitive abilities not only relate to better speech perception, but also partly explain higher processing load in complex listening conditions.

scholarly journals Replication of Feng et al.（2013）: Confirm the prediction of control-failure hypothesis on the mind wandering during reading

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sau-Chin Chen ◽  
YU-HSUAN KU ◽  
YU WEN HUANG ◽  
Meng Jie Cai ◽  
金佳穎 ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Control Failure ◽  
On Line ◽  
Reproductive Analysis ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

Mind wanderings in laboratory tasks refer to the individual attention shifted from the on-line task to the unrelated information. The recordings of mind wanderings depended on participants’ responses to the probes between texts. Then researchers counted the frequencies of mind wanderings across the interested conditions. According to the control-failure hypothesis, Feng et al. (2013) predicted more mind wanderings while reading the difficult articles in comparison with reading the easy articles. This hypothesis assumed that reading articles would consume the working memory capacity that inhibits the inattentional processing. Although the results of Feng et al. were consistent with the control-failure hypothesis, there would be three issues to be clarified for the advanced studies. First is that the original study did not control or measure the working memory capacity, although the original researchers’ theory emphasized the matter of working memory. Secondly the recent studies of mind wanderings consistently supported the original findings, but the latest evidence were indirect because these studies did not aim at the control-failure hypothesis. The final issue raised from our reproductive analysis of the original data. In our analysis, the summarized frequencies of mind wandering were lower than the summary in the original paper. A registered replication study will provide the future researchers the reliable information to construct a falsifiable hypothesis and suggest a highly powered design.

Working memory following improvements in articulation rate in children with cerebral palsy

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desirée A. White ◽  
Suzanne Craft ◽  
Sandra Hale ◽  
Jeffrey Schatz ◽  
T.S. Park
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Verbal Material ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Primary Determinant

AbstractIt has been postulated that rehearsal rate is the primary determinant of working memory capacity for verbal material (Baddeley et al., 1975). A previous study of normal control children and children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) suggested that covert rather than overt rehearsal rate determines working memory capacity (White et al., 1994). In the current study, a subset of SDCP children who received a surgical treatment to relieve spasticity were retested on measures of articulation rate and memory span. A subset of control children from the original study were also retested. The SDCP group showed improvements in articulation rate at follow-up, though memory span did not change and was again equivalent to that of controls. These findings indicate that increases in articulation rate are not necessarily accompanied by improvements in memory span, and provide additional evidence that working memory capacity may be determined by covert rather than overt articulatory rehearsal. (JINS, 1995, I, 49–55.)

Working Memory in Aphasia

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Harris Wright ◽  
Rebecca J. Shisler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Theoretical Framework

Recently, researchers have suggested that deficits in working memory capacity contribute to language-processing difficulties observed in individuals with aphasia (e.g., I. Caspari, S. Parkinson, L. LaPointe, & R. Katz, 1998; R. A. Downey et al., 2004; N. Friedmann & A. Gvion, 2003; H. H. Wright, M. Newhoff, R. Downey, & S. Austermann, 2003). A theoretical framework of working memory can aid in our understanding of a disrupted system (e.g., after stroke) and how this relates to language comprehension and production. Additionally, understanding the theoretical basis of working memory is important for the measurement and treatment of working memory. The literature indicates that future investigations of measurement and treatment of working memory are warranted in order to determine the role of working memory in language processing.

Does the shallow structures proposal account for qualitative differences in first and second language processing?

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Laura Sabourin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 And L2

In their Keynote Article, Clahsen and Felser (CF) provide a detailed summary and comparison of grammatical processing in adult first language (L1) speakers, child L1 speakers, and second language (L2) speakers. CF conclude that child and adult L1 processing makes use of a continuous parsing mechanism, and that any differences found in processing can be explained by factors such as limited working memory capacity and incomplete lexical knowledge. The authors then suggest that the existing differences between L1 (both adult and child) and L2 processing provide evidence that parsing mechanisms are qualitatively different between these groups. They posit that this qualitative difference between L1 and L2 is due to L2 speakers having shallower and less detailed syntactic representations than L1 speakers. This commentary focuses on discussing this shallow structures account and considers what this means for L2 processing.

Differential Effects of Executive Processes on Working Memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-249
Author(s):  
Xuezhu Ren ◽  
Tengfei Wang ◽  
Karl Schweizer ◽  
Jing Guo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Prepotent Response ◽  
Two Measures

Abstract. Although attention control accounts for a unique portion of the variance in working memory capacity (WMC), the way in which attention control contributes to WMC has not been thoroughly specified. The current work focused on fractionating attention control into distinctly different executive processes and examined to what extent key processes of attention control including updating, shifting, and prepotent response inhibition were related to WMC and whether these relations were different. A number of 216 university students completed experimental tasks of attention control and two measures of WMC. Latent variable analyses were employed for separating and modeling each process and their effects on WMC. The results showed that both the accuracy of updating and shifting were substantially related to WMC while the link from the accuracy of inhibition to WMC was insignificant; on the other hand, only the speed of shifting had a moderate effect on WMC while neither the speed of updating nor the speed of inhibition showed significant effect on WMC. The results suggest that these key processes of attention control exhibit differential effects on individual differences in WMC. The approach that combined experimental manipulations and statistical modeling constitutes a promising way of investigating cognitive processes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document