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Published on: June 29, 2021
The word class effect in the picture-word interference paradigm.
Niels Janssen1, Alissa Melinger, Bradford Z Mahon
1University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. njanssen@ull.es
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|December 10, 2009
Summary
Replicating the word class effect in picture-word interference tasks revealed that distractor imageability, not word class, influences naming speed. This challenges the idea that word class constrains lexical selection.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Psychology
- Experimental Psychology
Background:
- The word class effect in the picture-word interference paradigm has been cited as strong evidence for word class constraints in lexical selection.
- Methodological concerns prompted a need to replicate key findings supporting this effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate the word class effect in the picture-word interference paradigm.
- To investigate the influence of distractor word class and imageability on lexical selection.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1 replicated a previous study using noun and adverb distractors in bare noun and sentence frame contexts.
- Experiment 2 manipulated distractor word class (noun vs. verb) and imageability orthogonally in similar naming contexts.
- Participants named pictures of objects under various distractor conditions.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1 replicated the word class effect, suggesting a potential semantic origin.
- Experiment 2 found that distractor imageability significantly affected picture naming latencies, while distractor word class did not.
- The picture-word interference paradigm demonstrated sensitivity to distractor imageability but not word class.
Conclusions:
- The findings challenge the utility of the word class effect in the picture-word interference paradigm as support for word class constraints during lexical selection.
- The results highlight the significant role of distractor imageability in this paradigm.
- Further research may be needed to clarify the precise mechanisms of lexical selection.
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