Semantic neighborhood effects on the recognition of ambiguous words

The effect of semantic neighborhood on the processing of ambiguous words was examined in two lexical decision experiments. Semantic neighborhood was defined in terms of semantic set size and network connectivity. In Experiment 1, the variables of semantic set size, network connectivity, and ambiguit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memory & cognition 2003-06, Vol.31 (4), p.505-515
Main Authors: LOCKER, Lawrence JR, SIMPSON, Greg B, YATES, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Connectivity
Decision Making
Fixation, Ocular
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Language
Miscellaneous
Neighborhoods
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Random Allocation
Reaction Time
Recognition (Psychology)
Semantics
Vocabulary
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Summary:The effect of semantic neighborhood on the processing of ambiguous words was examined in two lexical decision experiments. Semantic neighborhood was defined in terms of semantic set size and network connectivity. In Experiment 1, the variables of semantic set size, network connectivity, and ambiguity were crossed. An ambiguity advantage was observed only within small-set low-connectivity words. In Experiment 2, the effect of network connectivity on the processing of words of high and low meaning relatedness was examined. Participants responded more rapidly to words of high meaning relatedness, relative to words of low meaning relatedness, but only within high-connectivity words. These results are interpreted within a framework in which both semantic feedback processes and meaning-level competition can affect the recognition of semantically ambiguous words.
ISSN:0090-502X
1532-5946
DOI:10.3758/BF03196092