Réponses verbales et motrices à des mots et à des dessins

Abstract

Summary : Verbal and motor response times to words and pictures. The fact that it takes longer to name a picture than to read a word is now a standard resuit in experimental psychology. This study compared the pattern of picture versus word processing with verbal responses and motor responses to simple geometric figures and the equivalent words at various stimulus presentation times. The pattern of effects with motor responses was the opposite of that with verbal responses, motor reaction times being longer to the words than to the figures at all presentation times. We conclude that when a motor response is required to a word, the subject must translate a phonetic code into a semanticfspatial code in order to match the word with the corresponding response key. The figure stimuli are automatically given a semantic code and do not therefore require a supplementary processing stage to give a motor response. However, if a verbal response is required, the semantic code attributed to the figure stimuli must be translated into a phonetic code thus entailing a supplementary processing stage compared to the word stimuli which are automatically attributed a phonetic code. Key words : picture-word perception, motor response.