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Seeing the Meaning: Top-Down Effects on Letter Identification.
Gemma A L Evans1, Matthew A Lambon Ralph1, Anna M Woollams1
1Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, University of ManchesterManchester, England.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 6, 2017
Summary
Meaning-level information, like imageability and semantic priming, significantly influences early letter identification during reading. This suggests semantic effects impact the initial stages of visual word recognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Reading models propose interactive networks with bottom-up and top-down processing.
- The role of meaning-level information in early letter processing remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate top-down semantic influences on letter detection.
- To examine effects of word imageability and semantic priming on letter perception.
Main Methods:
- Used a continuous adaptive staircase procedure to measure exposure duration for accurate letter perception.
- Manipulated real word imageability, semantic priming, and nonword similarity to real words.
Main Results:
- Words were processed more efficiently than pseudowords and consonant strings.
- High imageability words showed faster processing than low imageability words.
- Semantic priming shortened exposure duration but lengthened reaction times, indicating an inhibitory effect.
Conclusions:
- Semantic dimensions like imageability and priming significantly affect letter identification.
- Meaning-level information influences the earliest stages of written word recognition.
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