1. WORD RECOGNTION (Sereno, 1/05) I. Introduction to psycholinguistics II
WORD RECOGNTION (Sereno, 1/05) I. Introduction to psycholinguistics II. Basic units of language III. Word recognition IV. Word frequency & lexical ambiguity

2. Frequency: “When is access?”
Word frequency effect = differential response to commonly used high-frequency (HF) words vs. low-frequency (LF) words that occur much less often:
The sore on Tam-Tam’s was swollen.
(HF) back
(LF) rump
A word frequency effect [ HF < LF ] is used as a marker (index) of successful word recognition (lexical access).
If you can track frequency, you can track lexical access...

3. 553 ms
490 ms
259 ms
275 ms
280 ms
293 ms
(Sereno & Rayner, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2003)

4. (Sereno & Rayner, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2003)

5. Ambiguity: “How early is context?”
Ambiguous words have 1 form and 2 meanings:
CRICKET = or cf.
Understanding how ambiguous words are processed tells us about how words in general are processed.
Is only the context-relevant meaning selectively accessed, or, are all meanings accessed (regardless of context) with selection occurring at a later, post-lexical integration stage?
The timing of contextual constraint - early or late - has implications for the architecture of language processing...

6. Distributed hierarchical visual processing in the primate
lexical
human
Distributed hierarchical visual processing in the primate
features
letters
word forms
meanings
higher-level
semantics
syntax

7. Distributed hierarchical visual processing in the primate
lexical
human
Distributed hierarchical visual processing in the primate

8. Models of Lexical Ambiguity Resolution
Modular position
Access is exhaustive: All meanings of ambiguous words are automatically accessed; context cannot directly affect lexical processing, but instead operates on the output of the lexical processor to select the appropriate sense.
Interactive position
Access is selective: Context guides access towards the appropriate sense of an ambiguous word; while both senses may be initially activated, only the contextually appropriate sense is fully accessed.

9. How ambiguity has been studied
“Indirect” measures
Secondary: Effects of context on ambiguous word gauged by priming effects on target downstream
Paradigms:
Cross-modal priming [Swinney; Tanenhaus et al.; 1979]
ERP unimodal priming [Van Petten & Kutas, 1987]
Eye movement “fast priming” [Sereno, 1995]
Unimodal priming (probe tasks) [Simpson; Kellas & colleagues]
“Direct” measures
Primary: Effects of context on ambiguous word gauged by comparing its fixation time/voltage to control word
Eye movement reading [Rayner & colleagues]
ERP word-by-word reading [Sereno, Brewer, & O’Donnell, 2003]

10. Example of ‘Indirect’: Cross-modal priming
Aud amb Visual
Auditory context prime target
“The building was infested with BUGS” ANT “and it…”
SPY
SEW
Results: In general, support Modularity of lexical processing.
Other ‘indirect’ paradigms comments
ERP unimodal priming N400 is late component
Eye movement “fast priming” reflect lexical & post-lexical
Unimodal priming (probe tasks) slow RT≈700ms, stimulus
presentation; control cond?

11. How ambiguity has been studied
“Indirect” measures
Secondary: Effects of context on ambiguous word gauged by priming effects on target downstream
Paradigms:
Cross-modal priming [Swinney; Tanenhaus et al.; 1979]
ERP unimodal priming [Van Petten & Kutas, 1987]
Eye movement “fast priming” [Sereno, 1995]
Unimodal priming (probe tasks) [Simpson, Kellas & colleagues]
“Direct” measures
Primary: Effects of context on ambiguous word gauged by comparing its fixation time/voltage to control word
Eye movement reading [Rayner & colleagues]
ERP word-by-word reading [Sereno, Brewer, & O’Donnell, 2003]

12. Example of ‘Direct’: EM normal reading
Ambiguous The mud was deep along the bank ...
(subordinate)
HF=word form The mud was deep along the edge ...
LF=meaning The mud was deep along the brim ... è è
Results: Fixation time “Spillover” time
Amb=LF > HF Amb > LF > HF
Other ‘direct’ paradigm comments
• ERP word-by-word reading N1 effects ms);
but, ‘impaired’ reading

14. EM studies of lexical ambiguity
Compare fixation time on an ambiguous word to a control word across different contexts.
Context Ambiguous Control
Neutral Robin peered over at the _____ bank edge
Biasing The mud was deep along the _____ bank edge
Fixation
time
> =
Critical factors that affect fixation time

15. Factors identified from EM studies
Biasing = disambiguation before target
Neutral = disambiguation after target
(1) Context
(2) Meaning instantiated
(3) Type of amb word
Dominant (Dom)
Subordinate (Sub)
Biased (polarized): Dom >> Sub
Balanced: Dom ≥ Sub

16. Factors identified from EM studies
Biasing = disambiguation before target
Neutral = disambiguation after target
(1) Context
(2) Meaning instantiated
(3) Type of amb word
Dominant (Dom)
Subordinate (Sub)
Biased (polarized): Dom >> Sub
Balanced: Dom ≥ Sub

17. Dominant:
“money”
Subordinate:
“river”
BANK

18. Factors identified from EM studies
Biasing = disambiguation before target
Neutral = disambiguation after target
(1) Context
(2) Meaning instantiated
(3) Type of amb word
Dominant (Dom)
Subordinate (Sub)
Biased (polarized): Dom >> Sub
Balanced: Dom ≥ Sub

19. Biased (polarised): Dom >> Sub
Balanced: Dom ≥ Sub

20. Why is BANK so slow?
Context Ambiguous Control
Neutral Robin peered over at the _____ bank edge
Biasing The mud was deep along the _____ bank edge
> =
Shouldn’t a biasing context facilitate word recognition?
BANK is a biased ambiguous word (Dom>>Sub), and the prior biasing context supports its Sub sense.

21. Why is BANK so slow? Modular: Interactive: = >
Context Ambiguous Control
Neutral Robin peered over at the _____ bank edge
Biasing The mud was deep along the _____ bank edge
> =
Interactive:
Lexical processing is slowed because the Sub sense is equivalent to a low frequency (LF) word meaning.
Modular:
Post-lexical processing (serial) is slowed in biasing context because integration is only successful half the time (at most).

22. Why are the others faster?
Context Ambiguous Control
Neutral Robin peered over at the _____ bank edge
Biasing The mud was deep along the _____ bank edge =
>
Why is EDGE so fast?
It’s a HF word.
Why is Neutral BANK so fast?
Only strong, Dom sense is accessed & it fits (neutral) context.

23. What about the CONTROL word?
In almost all EM ambiguity studies, the unambiguous control word is chosen to match the overall word-form frequency of the ambiguous target.
For biased ambiguous words (Dom>>Sub), this typically results in control words that are high frequency (HF) words.
A more appropriate control might be one matched to the meaning frequency of the ambiguous word’s instantiated Sub sense – a low frequency (LF) word.
Ambiguous (Sub) The mud was deep along the bank ...
Word form = HF The mud was deep along the edge ...
Word meaning = LF The mud was deep along the brim ... è

24. BANK EDGE “money” “edge” M E A N I G Dom HF F O R M ambiguous
“river”
“brim”
Sub LF F O R M
BANK
EDGE
BRIM
ambiguous
unambiguous controls

25. Control word HF LF amb Context sentence paragraph EM ambiguity studies
Duffy & Rayner (1986) x x
Duffy, Morris, & Rayner (1988) x x
Rayner & Frazier (1989) x x
Sereno, Pacht, & Rayner (1992) x x x
Dopkins, Morris, & Rayner (1992) x x
Rayner, Pacht, & Duffy (1994) x inconsistent
Sereno (1995) x x
Binder & Morris (1995) x inconsistent
Binder & Rayner (1998) x x
Binder & Rayner (1999) x x
Rayner, Binder, & Duffy (1999) x x
Wiley & Rayner (2000) x x
Kambe, Rayner, & Duffy (2001) x inconsistent
Binder (2003) x inconsistent
ERP study
Sereno, Brewer, & O’Donnell (2003) x x x
Sereno, O’Donnell, & Rayner

26. Kambe et al. (2001) Consistent Inconsistent Global 2 ‘fillers’
“dog” “dog”
“fighter” “dog”
Global
After she was robbed, Mary
decided to buy an attack dog.
Mike Tyson had just arrived
in town on a promotional tour.
(Sub / Dom)
When the community found out, many of
them were very angry. Others were not
sure how they felt.
2 ‘fillers’
Mary wanted something to protect
her so when she saw an ad for a
boxer/puppy in the local paper, she
bought it and immediately felt much safer.
Local + target
(Sub )

27. Kambe et al. (2001) Consistent Inconsistent Global 2 ‘fillers’
“dog” “dog”
“fighter” “dog”
Global
Sam’s pet died last week and
he wanted a new companion.
Sam was out of shape and
needed to join a gym.
(Sub / Dom)
He spent a great deal of time reviewing
his options. He even went to talk to other
people to get their advice.
2 ‘fillers’
Sam decided to go to a kennel where
he bought a boxer/puppy that he knew
he would like to take home.
Local + target
(Sub )

28. Kambe et al. (2001) Context Global Local Gaze Duration (ms)
Consistent Sub Sub Amb (303) > HF (286)
Inconsistent Dom Sub Amb (304) > HF (291)

29. Sereno, O’Donnell, & Rayner: Changes to Kambe et al.
1 Only use Consistent (global=local=SUB) contexts.
2 Remove 2 internal “filler” sentences that occur
between global and local sentences.
3 Add word meaning (LF) control word.
4 Create new paragraph to accommodate additional
control word for counter-balancing purposes.

30. Stimuli: Example 1 Step 1: Only Consistent versions
After she was robbed, Mary decided to buy an attack dog. When the community found out, many of them were very angry. Others were not sure how they felt. Mary wanted something to protect her so when she saw an ad for a boxer/puppy in the local paper, she bought it and immediately felt much safer.
Sam’s pet died last week and he wanted a new companion. He spent a great deal of time reviewing his options. He even went to talk to other people to get their advice. Sam decided to go to a kennel where he bought a boxer/puppy that he knew he would like to take home.

31. Stimuli: Example 1 Step 2: Remove internal ‘filler’ sentences
After she was robbed, Mary decided to buy an attack dog. When the community found out, many of them were very angry. Others were not sure how they felt. Mary wanted something to protect her so when she saw an ad for a boxer/puppy in the local paper, she bought it and immediately felt much safer.
Sam’s pet died last week and he wanted a new companion. He spent a great deal of time reviewing his options. He even went to talk to other people to get their advice. Sam decided to go to a kennel where he bought a boxer/puppy that he knew he would like to take home.

32. Stimuli: Example 1 Step 3: Add word meaning (LF) control
After she was robbed, Mary decided to buy an attack dog. Mary wanted something to protect her so when she saw an ad for a boxer/puppy/husky in the local paper, she bought it and immediately felt much safer.
Sam’s pet died last week and he wanted a new companion. Sam decided to go to a kennel where he bought a boxer/puppy/husky that he knew he would like to take home.

33. Stimuli: Example 1 Step 4: New passage for counter-balancing
After she was robbed, Mary decided to buy an attack dog. Mary wanted something to protect her so when she saw an ad for a boxer/puppy/husky in the local paper, she bought it and immediately felt much safer.
Sam’s pet died last week and he wanted a new companion. Sam decided to go to a kennel where he bought a boxer/puppy/husky that he knew he would like to take home.
“I don’t want a cat!” screamed Tara. Her parents were devastated. How could they have been mistaken? She liked dogs. They went out the next day and brought home a little boxer/puppy/husky and hoped their Tara would approve.

34. Stimuli: Example 2 Step 1: Only Consistent versions
Colleen was tormented by her sins. She began to feel as if she were losing control of her life. She did not want to feel worse than she already did. She knelt down in the church after putting on the habit/cross that all of the novices were required to wear within the convent walls.
Although Peggy had a deep sense of faith she was troubled. Recently, when she went to the doctor, he told her that her health was deteriorating. She was extremely upset by the news. Peggy decided to become a nun and wear a habit/cross in order to symbolize her devotion to religious life.

35. Stimuli: Example 2 Step 2: Remove internal ‘filler’ sentences
Colleen was tormented by her sins. She began to feel as if she were losing control of her life. She did not want to feel worse than she already did. She knelt down in the church after putting on the habit/cross that all of the novices were required to wear within the convent walls.
Although Peggy had a deep sense of faith she was troubled. Recently, when she went to the doctor, he told her that her health was deteriorating. She was extremely upset by the news. Peggy decided to become a nun and wear a habit/cross in order to symbolize her devotion to religious life.

36. Stimuli: Example 2 Step 3: Add word meaning (LF) control
Colleen was tormented by her sins. She knelt down in the church after putting on the habit/cross/shawl that all of the novices were required to wear within the convent walls.
Although Peggy had a deep sense of faith she was troubled. Peggy decided to become a nun and wear a habit/cross/shawl in order to symbolize her devotion to religious life.

37. Stimuli: Example 2 Step 4: New passage for counter-balancing
Colleen was tormented by her sins. She knelt down in the church after putting on the habit/cross/shawl that all of the novices were required to wear within the convent walls.
Although Peggy had a deep sense of faith she was troubled. Peggy decided to become a nun and wear a habit/cross/shawl in order to symbolize her devotion to religious life.
The moon cast an eerie light as Sister Margaret hurried up the unlit road. She had heard tales about the vampire. Although she did not believe them, Sister Margaret was still cautious. So when she was out alone at night, she wore her habit/cross/shawl and carried a stake.

38. Sereno, O’Donnell, & Rayner: Specifications
Stimuli:
Amb HF(form) LF(Sub)
frequency
length
# items
Subjects: 45
Design:
3 passages for each matched set of 3 targets (x 24 sets = 72 total items)
Each subject saw all 3 targets, each in different passages
3 subject conditions by rotating 3 targets through 3 different passages
15 Ss in each of the 3 possible subject conditions
Dom = 90%
Sub = 6%

39. Amb HF LF

40. “target”
“spillover”

41. EM ambiguity conclusions – 1
Ambiguous words (with prior context supporting the weak, Sub sense) are simultaneously:
HF forms  fast
LF meanings  slow
The present data do not provide clear support for either a strong modular or strong interactive account.
Both predict (for different reasons) increased difficulty than that observed.
The present data support a hybrid model in which both the prior context and meaning frequency of the instantiated sense affect lexical access.
Reordered Access Model (Duffy, Morris, & Rayner, 1988).
2-Stage Modular-Interactive (Potter, Moryadas, Abrams, & Noel, 1993)
Independent Activation Model (Twilley & Dixon, 2000)

42. EM ambiguity conclusions – 2
The dual nature of an ambiguous words means that the characteristics of the control word need to be seriously considered.
A LF meaning control can cast light on the contextual constraint of meaning activation.
Bottom line: Future lexical ambiguity studies should use both word-form (HF) & word-meaning (LF) controls.