Semantic activation of noun concepts in context.

Whitney, Paul; McKay, Timothy A.; Kellas, George; Emerson, William A.

doi:10.1037/0278-7393.11.1.126

Cited by 55 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This finding contradicts 'constructivist' theories that claim that categories do not possess a relatively fixed internal structure and that the meaning of a category can change dramatically, depending on the context in which the name of the category is immersed (Anderson et al 1976;Anderson and Shiffrin 1980). For the present question of when context influences category structure, Whitney et al 1985 work is most relevant because it entailed an on-line investigation of processing using Cross Modal Lexical Priming (CMLP). CMLP, which has also been used in some of the studies of lexical access mentioned previously, is based on the semantic priming effect: Words closely associated with previously perceived words will be recognized faster than unrelated words (see, e.g., Neely 1977).…”

Section: Category Names In Sentential Contextcontrasting

confidence: 40%

“…Other work on conceptual categorization in a sentential context was carried out by Whitney and colleagues (Whitney 1986;Whitney and Kellas 1984;Whitney et al 1985). In their 1984 study using the Stroop effect, Whitney and Kellas showed that when category names are encountered in a sentence they do not seem to be encoded as particular (contextually congruent) exemplars.…”

Section: Category Names In Sentential Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The third experiment examines the temporal characteristics of the contextual adaptation of categories. In all experiments, we use Cross Modal Lexical Priming (CMLP; see, for example, Nicol et al 2006;Shapiro et al 1998;Swinney 1979;Whitney et al 1985) as a task that appears to be sensitive to fast-acting and relatively automatic processes that underlie on-line sentence understanding. Finally, in the discussion of present results we try to reconcile the form-driven and interactive approaches to contextual adaptation of lexical items by interpreting them in a dynamical framework.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activating Basic Category Exemplars in Sentence Contexts: A Dynamical Account

Rączaszek-Leonardi

Shapiro

Tuller

et al. 2007

J Psycholinguist Res

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This paper examines the influence of context on the processing of category names embedded in sentences. The investigation focuses on the nature of information available immediately after such a word is heard as well as on the dynamics of adaptation to context. An on-line method (Cross Modal Lexical Priming) was used to trace how this process unfolds in time. We found that the information available immediately after a category word is presented is not altered by the sentence context in which the word is immersed. Rather, the structure of availability of particular exemplars of the category resembles the typicality structure of a conceptual representation. The adaptation to context occurs later (between 300 and 450 ms after the category word) and takes the form of a rapid reorganization of the structure rather than a gradual activation of a contextually relevant exemplar. We claim that such data is best accounted for in a dynamical framework, where a coherent global structure emerges through locally guided self-organization.

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Section: Category Names In Sentential Contextcontrasting

confidence: 40%

Section: Category Names In Sentential Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activating Basic Category Exemplars in Sentence Contexts: A Dynamical Account

Rączaszek-Leonardi

Shapiro

Tuller

et al. 2007

J Psycholinguist Res

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“…It is conceivable that even at the lexical level only a shallow semantic access occurs in natural reading. Combining this view with the hypothesis that words have a "core" meaning that is automatically and rapidly activated (Whitney et al, 1985;Mahon and Caramazza, 2008;Dove, 2009), perhaps only this core meaning is activated in natural reading. On this view, common single-word experimental settings result in an unusually deep and/or wider processing of the concept, resulting in activation of "peripheral" semantic features, which may be grounded in sensory-motor cortices but do not represent the core aspects of the meaning, whatever they are.…”

Section: Number Of Total Fixations Number Of Fixations On Nouns Fixatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Semantics in the Wild: Activation to Manipulable Nouns in Naturalistic Reading

et al. 2016

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The neural basis of language processing, in the context of naturalistic reading of connected text, is a crucial but largely unexplored area. Here we combined functional MRI and eye tracking to examine the reading of text presented as whole paragraphs in two experiments with human subjects. We registered high-temporal resolution eye-tracking data to a low-temporal resolution BOLD signal to extract responses to single words during naturalistic reading where two to four words are typically processed per second. As a test case of a lexical variable, we examined the response to noun manipulability. In both experiments, signal in the left anterior inferior parietal lobule and posterior inferior temporal gyrus and sulcus was positively correlated with noun manipulability. These regions are associated with both action performance and action semantics, and their activation is consistent with a number of previous studies involving tool words and physical tool use. The results show that even during rapid reading of connected text, where semantics of words may be activated only partially, the meaning of manipulable nouns is grounded in action performance systems. This supports the grounded cognition view of semantics, which posits a close link between sensory-motor and conceptual systems of the brain. On the methodological front, these results demonstrate that BOLD responses to lexical variables during naturalistic reading can be extracted by simultaneous use of eye tracking. This opens up new avenues for the study of language and reading in the context of connected text.

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“…In a series of studies, Whitney and his colleagues (Whitney, 1986;Whitney & Kellas, 1984;Whitney, McKay, Kellas, & Emerson, 1985) examined lexical access using the Stroop task. Initially, Whitney and KeUas (1984) presented sentences that biased a typical member of a category (e.g., "The guest saw the bird that landed on the branch"--robin) or an atypical member (e.g., "The guest saw the bird that roasted on the grill"--chicken), or that were neutral (e.g., "The guest saw the towels that hung in the bathroom").…”

Section: Semantic Variation and The Irrelevant Wordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review.

MacLeod

1991

Psychological Bulletin

4,725

165

3,607

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The literature on interference in the Stroop Color-Word Task, covering over 50 years and some 400 studies, is organized and reviewed. In so doing, a set ofl 8 reliable empirical findings is isolated that must be captured by any successful theory of the Stroop effect. Existing theoretical positions are summarized and evaluated in view of this critical evidence and the 2 major candidate theories--relative speed of processing and automaticity of reading--are found to be wanting. It is concluded that recent theories placing the explanatory weight on parallel processing of the irrelevant and the relevant dimensions are likely to be more successful than are earlier theories attempting to locate a single bottleneck in attention.In 1935, J. R. Stroop published his landmark article on attention and interference, an article more influential now than it was then. Why has the Stroop task continued to fascinate us? Perhaps the task is seen as tapping into the primitive operations of cognition, offering clues to the fundamental process of attention. Perhaps the robustness of the phenomenon provides a special challenge to decipher. Together these are powerful attractions in a field of complex phenomena where the most subtie variation may exert a dramatic effect.In writing this article, I have two primary intentions. The first is to create a taxonomy of the empirical work on the Stroop task and its analogs. At least 70% of the more than 700 Strooprelated articles in the literature have been published since the reviews by Dyer (1973c) and Jensen and Rohwer (1966). Furthermore, Dyer's theoretical framework now seems in need of reconsideration, so that his review no longer provides the optimal organization. The second aim, then, is to survey existing theories, showing the critical weaknesses in the standard explanations and dispelling some myths that have arisen. I argue for a new theoretical framework for the Stroop effect, informed by contemporary cognitive psychology. This framework is more comprehensive than many earlier experiment-specific hypotheses, and suggests directions in which future research might profitably proceed.

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Semantic activation of noun concepts in context.

Cited by 55 publications

References 22 publications

Activating Basic Category Exemplars in Sentence Contexts: A Dynamical Account

Activating Basic Category Exemplars in Sentence Contexts: A Dynamical Account

Toward Semantics in the Wild: Activation to Manipulable Nouns in Naturalistic Reading

Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review.

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