Verbal transformation effect and the neighborhood activation model: Exploring the boundaries of the neighborhood

Abstract

A recorded word repeating over and over undergoes a succession of illusory changes to other words and syllables in the listener’s lexicon, as well as to nonwords. This verbal transformation effect (VTE) appears to involve successive satiations of a dominant representation and serial replacements by competing representations. Early during the presentation of a VTE stimulus, reported illusory forms are typically lexical and nonlexical neighbors of the veridical stimulus (i.e., forms differing from the stimulus by a single phoneme). Interestingly, presentation of a lexical stimulus initially evokes far more reports of nonlexical neighbors while a nonlexical stimulus evokes predominantly lexical neighbors. After 6 to 7 min, the perceived forms are no longer immediate neighbors of the veridical stimulus, and differ by two phonemes on average. The neighborhood activation model (NAM) considers that identification of spoken words involves the activation of competing, phonetically similar lexical and nonlexical representations. Activation of one of these competitors reaches a critical level and that competitor enters awareness. The VTE polls the population of activated representations, providing a means of defining the functional boundaries of neighborhoods as well as the dynamics of competitor interaction. [Work supported by NIH.]