Semantic interference in blocked naming: Does it become cumulative with large local response sets?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Semantic interference delays word production following semantically related words.
• This phenomenon is observed in continuous and blocked-cyclic naming tasks.
• Previous research attributed interference to adaptive learning, but its development varies across tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how local response set size affects semantic interference in blocked naming.
• To test the hypothesis that larger response sets weaken working memory's constraining effect on interference.
• To explore the interaction between adaptive learning and control mechanisms in word production.

Main Methods:

• Blocked naming experiments were conducted using local response sets of varying sizes (10 or 19 items).
• Participants performed picture naming tasks with repeated exposure to items within a set.
• Word production latencies were measured to quantify semantic interference.

Main Results:

• Semantic interference in blocked naming did not increase cumulatively with larger response sets.
• Interference persisted across more presentations in larger sets compared to smaller sets.
• Findings suggest a gradual control mechanism modulates adaptive learning during word production.

Conclusions:

• The size of local response sets influences the pattern of semantic interference in blocked naming.
• A gradual control mechanism, interacting with adaptive learning, plays a role in word production.
• Working memory's role in constraining interference may be less effective with larger response sets.