Can a lexical decision task predict efficiency in the judgment of ambiguous sentences?

Abstract

The lexicon plays a fundamental role in reading, but little is known about how it influences reading efficiency. Thus, this study seeks to identify which lexical factors in a lexical decision task are relevant in a semantic decision test. A total of 33 university students were recruited to perform a lexical decision task and a semantic decision task. The results revealed differences between the three types of words in the lexical decision task for all measures, but only in the regressive saccades for the semantic decision task. Ambiguous sentences triggered fewer regressions than sentences related to objects. The only lexical measure found to predict efficiency was average time on regular words, which predicted 24% of the efficiency. We discuss the implications of the use of a lexical decision task and the use of the inverse efficiency score as a semantic measure, and we discuss how the lexicon can predict semantic comprehension.

The uncanniness of written text is explained by configural deviation and not by processing disfluency

“…Conceptual (semantic) processing fluency may occur when the meaning of words or sentences is ambiguous (Laurence et al, 2018). Semantically ambiguous words increase processing needs when the task is to categorize a word based on its meaning, for example within a semantic decision task (Hino et al, 2002; Piercey & Joordens, 2000; see also Eddington & Tokowicz, 2015).…”