Lexical processing of functionally constrained words

Abstract

A series of experiments examines lexical decision and naming times to single words which, when used in a sentence, are functionally constrained. Closed class words which cannot meaningfully stand alone (e.g., THAN, ELSE) took longer to respond to than open class words in a lexical decision task but not a naming task (with naming onset times adjusted for voice onset variations); whereas closed class words which can stand alone (e.g., NOW, THOSE) did not differ from open class words. It was further shown that open class words which cannot stand alone (e.g., RELY, DISPOSE) were associated with longer lexical decision times than those which can (e.g., RAIL, PERSIST), but not with longer naming times. Thus the effect of functional constraint was not restricted to closed class words and seemed to occur at a post-access decision stage of processing rather than influencing lexical access itself. Finally, it was demonstrated that not all functional constraints delay lexical decision times, since obligatorily transitive verbs (e.g., BORROW, UNDERGO) did not differ from unconstrained words. An explanation is given terms of how meaningfulness might have an influence on lexical decision responses.