The segmental representation of words as revealed by priming in a lexical decision task

Abstract

In previous studies, a priming task has been used to explore the nature of the segmental representation of words. The phonetic overlap between a prime and a target was varied and the speed of naming or lexical decision to the target examined. The previous results showed that when phonemes occurred in the same syllable position in prime and target, responses to the target were faster than for control trials where the prime and target had no phonemes in common. In contrast, when prime and target shared phonemes but the positions of the phonemes in prime and target were different, no facilitation of target responses was found. In a new series of studies, this result is further examined using new stimuli and a dichotic priming format. Results will be discussed in terms of their implications for the nature of the abstract, segmental representation that underlies word recognition and lexical access. [Work supported by NIDCD Grant DC00219 to SUNY at Buffalo.]