Recognition times for 62 thousand English words: Data from the English Crowdsourcing Project

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Lexical Access

Background:

• Existing lexical datasets provide valuable information on word recognition.
• There is a need for expanded datasets covering a wider range of English vocabulary.
• Understanding factors influencing word recognition time is crucial for linguistic and cognitive research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a new, large-scale dataset of English word recognition times.
• To expand the available data for English word recognition, particularly for less common words.
• To investigate the influence of demographic factors like age and education on word recognition speed.

Main Methods:

• Collected word recognition data from over one million native English speakers via an internet-based vocabulary test.
• Registered participants' response times when identifying known words.
• Validated the new dataset against existing lexical resources like the English Lexicon Project.

Main Results:

• The English Crowdsourcing Project dataset includes recognition times for 62,000 English words.
• Response times in the new dataset show a strong correlation (r ≈ .75) with those from the English Lexicon Project for shared words.
• The dataset provides novel response time data for approximately 35,000 additional words.
• Analysis revealed differences in response latencies based on education level and age.

Conclusions:

• The English Crowdsourcing Project is a valid and valuable addition to existing lexical resources.
• The dataset significantly expands the availability of English word recognition times, especially for underrepresented words.
• The findings highlight the impact of age and education on word recognition speed, offering new avenues for research.