Implicit Word Learning Benefits From Semantic Richness: Electrophysiological and Behavioral Evidence

Words differ considerably in the amount of associated semantic information. Despite the crucial role of meaning in language, it is still unclear whether and how this variability modulates language learning. Here, we provide initial evidence demonstrating that implicit learning in repetition priming...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2012-07, Vol.38 (4), p.1076-1083
Main Authors: Rabovsky, Milena, Sommer, Werner, Abdel Rahman, Rasha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Hemisphere Functions
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Correlation
Decision Making
Diagnostic Tests
Electroencephalography
Electrophysiology
Evidence
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Experimental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Implicit Learning
Language Acquisition
Learning
Learning - physiology
Learning. Memory
Male
Perception
Photic Stimulation
Priming
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Role
Semantic Priming
Semantics
Task Analysis
Vision
Visual Evoked Potentials
Visual Perception
Visual Perception - physiology
Visual task performance
Vocabulary Development
Words (Phonetic Units)
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Description
Summary:Words differ considerably in the amount of associated semantic information. Despite the crucial role of meaning in language, it is still unclear whether and how this variability modulates language learning. Here, we provide initial evidence demonstrating that implicit learning in repetition priming is influenced by the amount of semantic features associated with a given word. Electroencephalographic recordings were obtained while participants performed a visual lexical decision task; the complete stimulus set was repeated once. Repetition priming effects on performance accuracy and the N400 component of the event-related brain potential were enhanced for words with many semantic features. These findings suggest a novel and important impact of the richness of semantic representations on learning and plasticity within the lexical-conceptual system; they are discussed in their relevance for assumptions concerning basic mechanisms underlying word learning.
ISSN:0278-7393
1939-1285
DOI:10.1037/a0025646