Semantic context and word frequency effects in visual word recognition.

Abstract

Semantic context and word frequency factors exert a strong influence on the time that it takes subjects to recognize words. Some of the explanations that have been offered for the effects of the two factors suggest that context and frequency should interact, and other explanations imply additivity. In a recent study, Schuberth and Eimas reported that context and frequency effects added to determine their subjects' reaction times in a lexical decision (word vs. nonword) task. The present experiment reexamines this question with improved procedures. The data show that context and frequency do interact, with a semantic context facilitating the processing of low-frequency words more than high-frequency words.

Cited by (11)

1. Are lexical decisions a good measure of lexical access? The role of word frequency in the neglected decision stage.
   Balota, David A., Chumbley, James I. · 1984 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
2. The mechanism of suppression: A component of general comprehension skill.
   Gernsbacher, Morton A., Faust, Mark E. · 1991 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
3. Context availability and lexical decisions for abstract and concrete words
   Schwanenflugel, Paula J, Harnishfeger, Katherine Kip, Stowe, Randall W · 1988 · Journal of Memory and Language
4. The locus of word-frequency effects in the pronunciation task: Lexical access and/or production?
   Balota, David A, Chumbley, James I · 1985 · Journal of Memory and Language
5. Priming and the Effects of Sentence and Lexical Contexts on Naming Time: Evidence for Autonomous Lexical Processing
   Forster, K. I. · 1981 · The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A

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