Can sequencing of articulation ease explain the in-out effect? A preregistered test

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Phonetics
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The "in-out effect" describes a preference for words with consonant articulation moving from front to back of the mouth.
• Existing theories suggest this effect may stem from linguistic principles like "easy-first" processing.
• The precise articulatory mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the articulatory basis of the in-out effect.
• To test whether the "easy-first" principle explains the in-out effect.
• To disentangle the roles of articulation direction and place in the in-out effect.

Main Methods:

• Three preregistered experiments involving 1012 participants.
• Analysis of in-out effects across different consonant articulation places (labial, coronal, dorsal).
• Controlled manipulation of articulation direction (front-to-back vs. back-to-front).

Main Results:

• In-out effects were observed for coronal-dorsal and labial-dorsal consonant sequences.
• No significant in-out effect was found for labial-coronal consonant sequences.
• The findings challenge the "easy-first" account as the sole explanation.

Conclusions:

• The in-out effect is dependent on specific combinations of consonant articulation places.
• The "easy-first" principle does not fully account for the observed in-out effects.
• Articulatory place, not just direction, is crucial for understanding the in-out effect.