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The operativity effect in naming: a re-analysis
P Feyereisen1, F Van der Borght, X Seron
1University of Louvain, Belgium.
Neuropsychologia
|January 1, 1988
Summary
Operativity influences picture naming in aphasia, reducing semantic errors. However, factors like age of acquisition and familiarity better predict naming performance than operativity itself.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Speech Therapy
Background:
- Howard Gardner's (1973) theory posits that object "operativity" affects picture naming in individuals with aphasia.
- Aphasia, a language disorder resulting from brain damage, often impairs word retrieval and naming abilities.
- Previous research highlights various factors influencing naming accuracy, including word frequency and semantic properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate Howard Gardner's findings on operativity's influence on picture naming in aphasic subjects.
- To investigate potential methodological biases and extend the analysis of operativity's role.
- To explore alternative explanations for observed naming patterns, considering other linguistic and cognitive variables.
Main Methods:
- 18 individuals with aphasia participated in the study.
- Sixty-four pictures representing high- and low-frequency nouns, rated for operativity (high/low), were presented for naming.
- Statistical analyses were employed to assess the impact of frequency, operativity, age-of-acquisition, and familiarity on naming performance.
Main Results:
- Both word frequency and operativity significantly impacted naming performance.
- Higher operativity correlated with fewer semantic paraphasias (word substitutions).
- Higher word frequency correlated with fewer phonemic paraphasias (sound errors).
- The effect of operativity on error reduction diminished when age-of-acquisition and picture familiarity were considered.
- Age-of-acquisition and picture familiarity emerged as stronger predictors of naming accuracy than operativity.
Conclusions:
- While operativity may play a role in picture naming for aphasic individuals, its influence is less significant than factors such as age-of-acquisition and familiarity.
- These findings suggest that aphasia rehabilitation strategies should consider a broader range of variables beyond object operativity.
- Future research should further explore the interplay between different cognitive and linguistic factors in aphasic language production.
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