Word Recognition

Question 1

what are some methods for studying visual word recognition?

Answer 1

saccades, fixation, regression, perceptual span in reading

Question 2

what does RT and accuracy involve?

Answer 2

a method for study word recognition that involves a naming task, lexical decision task, and semantic categorization

Question 3

what is the word frequency effect?

Answer 3

higher frequency words are accessed faster than lower frequency words (words that are used more we can access faster)

Question 4

what is semantic priming?

Answer 4

the observation that a response to a target (e.g., dog) is faster when it is preceded by a semantically related prime (e.g., cat) compared to an unrelated prime (e.g., car)

Question 5

what types of stimuli does semantic priming involve?

Answer 5

prime & target

Question 6

what is involved in attention and word recognition?

Answer 6

semantic priming, 2 attentional processes:
- one is short lived -> automatic
- one is slower and controlled -> conscious

Question 7

what can sentence context facilitate?

Answer 7

the sentence context can facilitate word recognition, if the target word is consistent w/ sentence context

Question 8

what are the models of visual recognition?

Answer 8

• autonomous search
• logogen
• connectionist models: SM, interactive activation

Question 9

what is the autonomous search model?

Answer 9

our lexicon is organized like a list (serially) and placed into access bins

Question 10

how does the autonomous search model account for word frequency effect?

Answer 10

Higher frequency words are listed 1st in access bins and serial search starts at the top of the bin/file.

Question 11

how does the autonomous search model account for sentence context effects?

Answer 11

Doesn’t naturally account for context (Forster: lexical access is autonomous)

Question 12

what is the cohort model?

Answer 12

spoken word recognition occurs in stages:
- acces
- selection
- integration

Question 13

how does the cohort model account for word frequency effect?

Answer 13

when narrow cohort (activation level of different items differ as a function of word frequency)

Question 14

how does cohort model account for sentence context effects?

Answer 14

later version: integration stage
earlier version: when narrow cohort (selection stage)

Question 15

what is the logogen model of word recognition?

Answer 15

logogen refers to an entry in the lexicon; it monitors info from the stimulus and context

Question 16

how does the logogen model account for word frequency effects?

Answer 16

Higher frequency words have lower threshold. (So, need less activation from the input to reach threshold.)

Question 17

how does the logogen model account for sentence context effects?

Answer 17

Built into the model: Context increases activation of logogens.

Question 18

what is the SM model of word recognition (Seidenberg & McClelland)?

Answer 18

lexicon is an interactive network of connections among different layers of processing
- units depend on layer: orthography, phonology, semantics

Question 19

what does different layer activation mean?

Answer 19

pattern of activation at orthographic, phonological, and context layer all determine what gets activated in the conceptual (meaning) layer
- more units activated together = more pathways, patterns are strengthened

Question 20

how does the SM model account for word frequency effect?

Answer 20

the more frequent the word, the units used are activated to form that word more, which leads to stronger pathways
(Higher frequency words have stronger pathways)

Question 21

how does the SM model account for sentence context effects?

Answer 21

Built into the model: Context -> parallel activation down to units in other layers