Repository logo
 

Retuning of lexical-semantic representations: Repetition and spacing effects in word-meaning priming.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Betts, Hannah N 
Gilbert, Rebecca A 
Cai, Zhenguang G 
Okedara, Zainab B 
Rodd, Jennifer M 

Abstract

Current models of word-meaning access typically assume that lexical-semantic representations of ambiguous words (e.g., 'bark of the dog/tree') reach a relatively stable state in adulthood, with only the relative frequencies of meanings and immediate sentence context determining meaning preference. However, recent experience also affects interpretation: recently encountered word-meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). Here, 3 experiments investigated how multiple encounters with word-meanings influence the subsequent interpretation of these ambiguous words. Participants heard ambiguous words contextually-disambiguated towards a particular meaning and, after a 20- to 30-min delay, interpretations of the words were tested in isolation. We replicate the finding that 1 encounter with an ambiguous word biased the later interpretation of this word towards the primed meaning for both subordinate (Experiments 1, 2, 3) and dominant meanings (Experiment 1). In addition, for the first time, we show cumulative effects of multiple repetitions of both the same and different meanings. The effect of a single subordinate exposure persisted after a subsequent encounter with the dominant meaning, compared to a dominant exposure alone (Experiment 1). Furthermore, 3 subordinate word-meaning repetitions provided an additional boost to priming compared to 1, although only when their presentation was spaced (Experiments 2, 3); massed repetitions provided no such boost (Experiments 1, 3). These findings indicate that comprehension is guided by the collective effect of multiple recently activated meanings and that the spacing of these activations is key to producing lasting updates to the lexical-semantic network. (PsycINFO Database Record

Description

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Association, Female, Humans, Linguistics, Male, Random Allocation, Repetition Priming, Young Adult

Journal Title

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0278-7393
1939-1285

Volume Title

44

Publisher

American Psychological Association