Related Experiment Videos
Nonword repetition in lexical decision: support for two opposing processes
Eric-Jan Wagenmakers1, René Zeelenberg, Mark Steyvers
1Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ej@northwestern.edu
Summary
Prior presentation of nonwords in lexical decision tasks results from fast inhibition and slow facilitation. Manipulating speed-stress balanced these processes, confirming dual-process models.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Human Memory
Background:
- Lexical decision tasks (LDT) involve deciding if a string is a word or nonword.
- Prior exposure to nonwords can influence subsequent LDT performance.
- The underlying mechanisms of nonword processing in LDT are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that nonword processing in LDT is driven by opposing fast inhibitory and slow facilitatory processes.
- To investigate how manipulating speed-stress affects the balance between these two processes.
- To provide evidence supporting dual-process models of lexical decision.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using lexical decision tasks.
- Speed-stress was manipulated using different response procedures (respond-when-ready, deadline, signal-to-respond).
- Nonword repetition was varied to examine priming effects.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1 demonstrated item-specific improvement for repeated nonwords under standard LDT conditions.
- Experiment 2, using a deadline, showed no effect of nonword repetition on performance.
- Experiment 3 revealed negative repetition priming for nonwords under variable time intervals.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a dual-process account of nonword recognition in LDT.
- A fast inhibitory process (global familiarity) and a slow facilitatory process (episodic retrieval) interact.
- Speed-stress influences the relative contribution of these processes to overall performance.