The effect of homogeneous versus heterogeneous stimuli on the confrontation-naming performance of aphasics

The effect of semantic grouping on confrontation-naming performances of 16 fluent and 10 nonfluent aphasics was examined. Subjects were tested under two testing conditions: homogeneous stimuli within one semantic category and heterogeneous stimuli from several semantic categories. Both the response latencies and the number of correct responses were considered, as well as the types of naming errors produced. Performances of the aphasics were not uniformly facilitated in one naming condition over the other. Some of the individual patients, however, did appear to display performance discrepancies between the two conditions. Clinical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.