Action and object picture naming in Turkish: A psycholinguistic database

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Speech and Language Processing

Background:

• Picture-naming tasks are crucial for understanding cognitive processes in speech and language.
• Normative databases are essential for reliable investigation of cognitive functions.
• A comprehensive database for Turkish picture naming was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a normative database for action and object picture naming in Turkish-speaking young adults.
• To collect data on naming latencies and other relevant performance measures.
• To investigate factors influencing naming performance, including word category, frequency, age of acquisition, name agreement, word length, and complexity.

Main Methods:

• Developed a database using 62 action and 198 object pictures from the International Picture-Naming Project.
• Recruited 40 healthy native Turkish speakers aged 18-38.
• Collected data on naming latencies, name agreement (H index), and other linguistic/visual variables.

Main Results:

• Created a normative picture-naming database for Turkish, including naming latencies, name agreement scores, and a correlation matrix.
• A linear mixed-effects model revealed that name agreement (H index) and age of acquisition significantly impact naming latencies.
• Identified key factors influencing picture-naming performance in Turkish.

Conclusions:

• The developed Turkish picture-naming database provides valuable normative data for research.
• Name agreement and age of acquisition are significant predictors of naming latency in Turkish.
• The database serves as a crucial resource for future psycholinguistic research in Turkish, enabling stimulus control and analysis.