On the additive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency in lexical decision: Evidence for opposing interactive influences revealed by RT distributional analyses.

Yap, Melvin J.; Balota, David A.; Tse, Chi‐Shing; Besner, Derek

doi:10.1037/0278-7393.34.3.495

Cited by 78 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(129 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

141

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…More generally, we emphasize the point made by Heathcote et al (1991), as well as by Balota and Yap (2011), Yap et al (2008), and others: An analysis of the distribution of RTs offers a more informative picture of mental processing than does the standard approach, which considers only mean RTs. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The semantic Stroop effect: An ex-Gaussian analysis

2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous analyses of the standard Stroop effect (which typically uses color words that form part of the response set) have documented effects on mean reaction times in hundreds of experiments in the literature. Less well known is the fact that ex-Gaussian analyses reveal that such effects are seen in (a) the mean of the normal distribution (mu), as well as in (b) the standard deviation of the normal distribution (sigma) and (c) the tail (tau). No ex-Gaussian analysis exists in the literature with respect to the semantically based Stroop effect (which contrasts incongruent color-associated words with, e.g., neutral controls). In the present experiments, we investigated whether the semantically based Stroop effect is also seen in the three ex-Gaussian parameters. Replicating previous reports, color naming was slower when the color was carried by an irrelevant (but incongruent) colorassociated word (e.g., sky, tomato) than when the control items consisted of neutral words (e.g., keg, palace) in each of four experiments. An ex-Gaussian analysis revealed that this semantically based Stroop effect was restricted to the arithmetic mean and mu; no semantic Stroop effect was observed in tau. These data are consistent with the views (1) that there is a clear difference in the source of the semantic Stroop effect, as compared to the standard Stroop effect (evidenced by the presence vs. absence of an effect on tau), and (2) that interference associated with response competition on incongruent trials in tau is absent in the semantic Stroop effect.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The semantic Stroop effect: An ex-Gaussian analysis

2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Namely, an empirical demonstration of an additive relationship between two factors may conceal an underlying pattern of opposing interactions that, when aggregated, yield the appearance of additivity. A clear example of this possibility was reported by Yap et al (2008). As discussed earlier, an aggregate additive relationship between word frequency and stimulus quality turned out to be composed of a combined overadditive and underadditive interaction when nonwords were pseudohomophones, with the type of interaction dependent on whether response times were generally short or long, respectively.…”

Section: Dynamic Adjustment Of Processingmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Another example of dynamic adjustment of processing that can lead to an underadditive interaction was reported by Yap, Balota, Tse, and Besner (2008). They found the usual additive effect of stimulus quality and word frequency in the aggregate data from a lexical decision task.…”

Section: Dynamic Adjustment Of Processingmentioning

confidence: 94%

Modulation of additive and interactive effects in lexical decision by trial history.

Masson

Kliegl

2013

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogni

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Additive and interactive effects of word frequency, stimulus quality, and semantic priming have been used to test theoretical claims about the cognitive architecture of word-reading processes. Additive effects among these factors have been taken as evidence for discrete-stage models of word reading. We present evidence from linear mixed-model analyses applied to 2 lexical decision experiments indicating that apparent additive effects can be the product of aggregating over-and underadditive interaction effects that are modulated by recent trial history, particularly the lexical status and stimulus quality of the previous trial's target. Even a simple practice effect expressed as improved response speed across trials was powerfully modulated by the nature of the previous target item. These results suggest that additivity and interaction between factors may reflect trial-to-trial variation in stimulus representations and decision processes rather than fundamental differences in processing architecture.Keywords: additive and interactive effects, effects of trial history, lexical decision, linear mixed models Many formal models of word-reading processes assume the existence of separate processing modules that are responsible for computing different types of information (e.g., deriving orthography from visual input, computing phonology from orthographic patterns, selecting semantic information that corresponds to a presented word). A fundamental issue in the design of such models is the manner in which information is shared between the constituent modules. It is commonly assumed that input between processing modules is cascaded, so that partial information moves between modules even before a module has completed its operations (e.g., McClelland, 1979), and most current models of visual word identification include feedback from higher (e.g., lexical) to lower (e.g., letter) levels of processing (e.g., Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001;Perry, Ziegler, & Zorzi, 2007;Plaut & Booth, 2000).These architectural features play an important role in allowing computational models to simulate some fundamentally important behavioral results involving word-identification tasks and, in particular, interactions between independent variables that influence the speed with which words are identified. In word-identification tasks such as naming aloud or lexical decision, semantic priming of target words is enhanced if the targets are presented in a visually degraded form such as low contrast (e.g., Becker, 1979;Borowsky & Besner, 1991Stanovich & West, 1983). The typical form of this interaction is overadditive, whereby the influence of semantic priming is greater when performance is slowed by a lowcontrast stimulus. In general, an overadditive interaction is one in which the simultaneous influence of two independent variables is larger than what would be expected by a simple summation of their individual effects. For example, unrelated primes and low stimulus quality both slow responding relative to related primes and high...

show abstract

“…This conclusion is neither particularly welcome nor especially appealing to the extent that it makes theorizing about mental performance more difficult. Nonetheless, it reflects a direction (e.g., see also Balota,Yap, Tse & Besner, 2008) that the field at large will need to take into account when attempting to explain skilled -reading‖ in particular and mental performance more generally.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stimulus quality affects feature and letter processing but not subsequent orthographic lexical activation, whereas word frequency affects lexical activation but not feature and letter level processing. (e.g., Borowsky & Besner, 1993;Plourde & Besner, 1997;O'Malley et al, 2007;Yap & Balota, 2007;Yap et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading aloud: Qualitative differences in the relation between stimulus quality and word frequency as a function of context.

O’Malley

Besner

2008

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogni

Self Cite

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Virtually all theories of visual word recognition assume (typically implicitly) that when a pathway is used, processing within that pathway always unfolds in the same way. This view is challenged by the observation that simple variations in list composition are associated with qualitative changes in performance. The present experiments demonstrate that when reading aloud, the joint effects of stimulus quality and word frequency on response time are driven by the presence/absence of nonwords in the list. Interacting effects of these factors are seen when only words appear in the experiment, whereas additive effects are seen when words and nonwords are randomly intermixed. One way to explain these and other data appeals to the distinction between cascaded processing (or interactive activation) on the one hand versus a thresholded mode of processing on the other, with contextual factors determining which mode of processing dominates.

show abstract

On the additive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency in lexical decision: Evidence for opposing interactive influences revealed by RT distributional analyses.

Cited by 78 publications

References 57 publications

The semantic Stroop effect: An ex-Gaussian analysis

The semantic Stroop effect: An ex-Gaussian analysis

Modulation of additive and interactive effects in lexical decision by trial history.

Reading aloud: Qualitative differences in the relation between stimulus quality and word frequency as a function of context.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About