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Cited by 335Reading and Literacy DevelopmentNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismSecond Language Acquisition and Learning

On the role of competing word units in visual word recognition: The neighborhood frequency effect

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Grainger, Jonathan, O’regan, J. Kevin, Jacobs, Arthur M., Segui, Juan·1989·Perception & Psychophysics
DOI 10.3758/bf03210696
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Abstract

Current models of word recognition generally assume that word units orthographically similar to a stimulus word are involved in the visual recognition of this word. We refer to this set of orthographically similar words as an orthographic neighborhood. Two experiments are presented that investigate the ways in which the composition of this neighborhood can affect word recognition. The data indicate that the presence in the neighborhood of at least one unit of higher frequency than the stimulus word itself results in interference in stimulus word processing. Lexical decision latencies (Experiment 1) and gaze durations (Experiment 2) to words with one neighbor of higher frequency were significantly longer than to words without a more frequent neighbor. This neighborhood frequency effect is discussed in terms of the different types of candidate selection process postulated by contemporary models of visual word recognition.

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  • The high-N low-frequency words that Andrews (1989) reported to be facilitated relative to low-N words in LDT and naming tasks are precisely those that should, according to Grainger et al. (1989), suffer most inhibition from higher frequency neighbors.

    “The high-N low-frequency words that Andrews (1989) reported to be facilitated relative to low-N words in LDT and naming tasks are precisely those that should, according to Grainger et al. (1989), suffer most inhibition from higher frequency neighbors.”

    From The effect of orthographic similarity on lexical retrieval: Resolving neighborhood conflicts (1997) · cites this paper as Grainger et al., 1989

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • In Grainger et al. (1989) eye-movement data, words with a single higher frequency neighbor were classified more slowly than words with either no neighbors or low-frequency neighbors, but this inhibitory effect was not evident for stimuli with more than one high-frequency neighbor.

    “Words with a single higher frequency neighbor were classified more slowly than were words with either no neighbors or with low-frequency neighbors.However, this inhibitory effect was not evident for stimuli with more than one high-frequency neighbor.”

    From The effect of orthographic similarity on lexical retrieval: Resolving neighborhood conflicts (1997) · cites this paper as Grainger et al., 1989

    Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • All but two of the studies demonstrating inhibitory effects of higher frequency neighbors have used non-English stimuli.

    “All but two ofthe studies demonstrating inhibitory effects ofhigher frequency neighbors have used non-English stimuli-French (Grainger & Jacobs, 1996;Grainger et aI., 1989;Grainger & Segui, 1990), Dutch (Grainger, 1990), or Spanish (Carreiras et aI., 1997).”

    From The effect of orthographic similarity on lexical retrieval: Resolving neighborhood conflicts (1997) · cites this paper as Grainger et al., 1989

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [27]27. ScHEERER, E. (1987). Visual word recognition in German. In D. A. Allport, D. Mackay, W. Prinz, & E. Scheerer (Eds.), Language per- ception and production: Shared mechanisms in listening. speaking. reading and writing (pp. 227-244). London: Academic Press.

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Authors
Grainger, J., O’regan, J. K., Jacobs, A. M., & Segui, J.
Affiliations
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
ORCID
Jacobs, Arthur M.
Venue
Perception & Psychophysics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
1989-05
Volume
45
Issue
3
Pages
189-195
ISSN
  • 0031-5117 (ISSN-L)
  • 1532-5962
DOI
10.3758/bf03210696
OpenAlex
W1991632929
Cited by
335
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 20
FWCI
10.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Perception & Psychophysics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Fondation Fyssen
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
Keywords
visual word recognition, orthographic neighborhood, word frequency, lexical decision, gaze duration, candidate selection, interference, orthographic similarity
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Humans, Psycholinguistics, Reading, Semantics

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