False memory for idiomatic expressions in younger and older adults: evidence for indirect activation of figurative meanings.

Jennifer H Coane,Claudia Sã¡Nchez-Gutiã©Rrez,Jennifer A Corriveau,Chelsea M Stillman

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00764

Jennifer H Coane, Claudia Sã¡Nchez-Gutiã©Rrez + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00764

Copy DOI

Abstract

Idiomatic expressions can be interpreted literally or figuratively. These two meanings are often processed in parallel or very rapidly, as evidenced by online measures of idiomatic processing. Because in many cases the figurative meaning cannot be derived from the component lexical elements and because of the speed with which this meaning is accessed, it is assumed such meanings are stored in semantic memory. In the present study, we examined how literal equivalents and intact idiomatic expressions are stored in memory and whether episodic memory traces interact or interfere with semantic-level representations and vice versa. To examine age-invariance, younger and older adults studied lists of idioms and literal equivalents. On a recognition test, some studied items were presented in the alternative form (e.g., if the idiom was studied, its literal equivalent was tested). False alarms to these critical items suggested that studying literal equivalents activates the idiom from which they are derived, presumably due to spreading activation in lexical/semantic networks, and results in high rates of errors. Importantly, however, the converse (false alarms to literal equivalents after studying the idiom) were significantly lower, suggesting an advantage in storage for idioms. The results are consistent with idiom processing models that suggest obligatory access to figurative meanings and that this access can also occur indirectly, through literal equivalents.

Highlights

FALSE MEMORY FOR IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS AND THEIR LITERAL EQUIVALENTS IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS Idioms, such as kick the bucket, are prevalent in everyday speech and are examples of figurative language
In their study, Rommers et al found no evidence of semantic activation of the literal word meanings when the idioms were presented in biasing contexts, suggesting that top-down processes, such as those given by context and expectancies, might be sufficient to “turn off ” word-level semantic processing
Some models, like that proposed by Cutting and Bock (1997), suggest that idioms are stored as units, but that activation can spread from the idiom to related word meanings of the composing lexical units that compose the given idiom

Summary

Introduction

FALSE MEMORY FOR IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS AND THEIR LITERAL EQUIVALENTS IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS Idioms, such as kick the bucket, are prevalent in everyday speech and are examples of figurative language. Several studies suggest that the idiomatic interpretation precedes the literal interpretation (Ortony et al, 1978; Gibbs, 1980; Cacciari and Tabossi, 1988) Both literal and figurative meanings are processed, it is difficult to tease these representations apart, in part because of the speed with which such processing occurs (for example, Cacciari and Tabossi, 1988, suggested that figurative meanings are available approximately 300 ms after presentation for non-transparent idioms and immediately for predictable idioms). The evidence reviewed above suggests that, it is still not clear exactly when and under what conditions figurative and literal meanings are accessed, the figurative meaning does need to be stored in semantic memory to support rapid and efficient processing of written and spoken language

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion