Real age-of-acquisition effects in lexical retrieval.

Abstract

Previous research on the effects of age of acquisition on lexical processing has relied on adult estimates of the age at which children learn words. The authors report 2 experiments in which effects of age of acquisition on lexical retrieval are demonstrated using real age-of-acquisition norms. In Experiment 1, real age of acquisition emerged as a powerful predictor of adult object-naming speed. There were also significant effects of visual complexity, word frequency, and name agreement. Similar results were obtained in reanalyses of data from 2 other studies of object naming. In Experiment 2, real age of acquisition affected immediate but not delayed object-naming speed. The authors conclude that age-of-acquisition effects are real and suggest that age of acquisition influences the speed with which spoken word forms can be retrieved from the phonological lexicon.

What makes icons appealing? The role of processing fluency in predicting icon appeal in different task contexts

“…For example, our familiarity with the abstract icon representing 'female' in Figure 2d allows us to identify it more quickly and effectively compared with the pictorial rabbit icon representing 'fast processing' (Figure 2b). In the picture naming literature, rated familiarity of the pictures is also a strong and consistent predictor of naming times and is thought to reflect the ease with which semantic representations can be accessed from long-term memory (Alario et al, 2004;Bates et al, 2003;Ellis & Morrison, 1998;Lambon-Ralph et al, 1998;Snodgrass & Yuditsky, 1996). Thus, when icons are presented, ease of processing is likely to be determined by the extent to which interface users are able to access an appropriate function, or meaning, reflecting our familiarity with the icon-function relationship.…”

Exploring a neural-network account of age-of-acquisition effects using repetition priming of faces

“…Barry et al (2001), however, also failed to find a significant word-frequency effect for either of their tasks. Frequency effects in lexical tasks have been found by various researchers-even when AoA effects have been controlled for (e.g., Brysbaert, Van Wijnendaele, & De Deyne, 2000;A. W. Ellis & Morrison, 1998;Gerhand & Barry, 1998;Monaghan & A. W. Ellis, 2002;Turner et al, 1998).…”

LEXIN: A lexical database from Spanish kindergarten and first-grade readers

“…For example, the effect of age of acquisition on word recognition speed has been demonstrated (for lexical decision tasks, see, e.g., Brysbaert, Lange, & Van Wijnen daele, 2000;Pérez, 2004). This effect has also been shown on other tasks, such as picture naming (e.g., Ellis & Morrison, 1998) and word naming (e.g., Coltheart, Laxon, & Keating, 1988). It seems that the nature of these different tasks influences the size of the age-of-acquisition effect.…”