Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
Published on: October 25, 2019
The processing of blend words in naming and sentence reading
Rebecca L Johnson1, Sarah Rose Slate1, Allison R Teevan1
11 Department of Psychology, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Research exploring the processing of morphologically complex words, such as compound words, has found that they are decomposed into their constituent parts during processing. Although much is known about the processing of compound words, very little is known about the processing of lexicalised blend words, which are created from parts of two words, often with phoneme overlap (e.g., brunch). In the current study, blends were matched with non-blend words on a variety of lexical characteristics, and blend processing was examined using two tasks: a naming task and an eye-tracking task that recorded eye movements during reading. Results showed that blend words were processed more slowly than non-blend control words in both tasks. Blend words led to longer reaction times in naming and longer processing times on several eye movement measures compared to non-blend words. This was especially true for blends that were long, rated low in word familiarity, but were easily recognisable as blends.
Related Concept Videos
Naming Enantiomers
Uncertainty in Measurement: Reading Instruments
Naming Skeletal Muscles
The key factors used in naming muscles include:
Common Names of Aldehydes and Ketones
Common names of aldehydes are derived from the names of their corresponding acid. For instance, the two-carbon aldehyde–acetaldehyde derives its name from the corresponding acid–acetic acid. Similarly, formaldehyde derives its name from formic acid and benzaldehyde from benzoic acid.
Aliphatic ketones are named by suffixing the word “ketone” to the...
Parallel Processing
Information Processing Approach

