Effects Of Orthographic Similarity Research Articles

Modelling orthographic similarity effects in recognition memory reveals support for open bigram representations of letter coding

A variety of letter string representations has been proposed in the reading literature to account for empirically established orthographic similarity effects from masked priming studies. However, these similarity effects have not been explored in episodic memory paradigms and very few memory models have employed orthographic representation of words. In the current work, through two recognition memory experiments employing word and pseudoword stimuli respectively, we empirically established a set of key orthographic similarity effects for the first time in recognition memory – namely the substitution effect, transposition effect and reverse effect in recognition memory of words and pseudowords, and a start-letter importance in recognition memory of words. Subsequently, we compared orthographic representations from the reading literature including slot coding, closed-bigram, open-bigram and the overlap model. Each of these representations was situated in a global matching model and fitted to recognition performance via Luce’s choice rule in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. Model selection results showed support for the open-bigram representation in both experiments.

The recognition of coordinative compound words by learners of Chinese as a foreign language: A mixed methods study

AbstractLearners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) tend to swap the two characters within a coordinative compound word in verbal identification and written production. This mixed methods study not only investigated how CFL learners identified intercharacter orthographic and semantic relationships within two‐morpheme coordinative compound words, but also explored how they used decoding strategies to resolve confusion related to constituent characters within compound words. Thirty‐two English‐speaking learners of Chinese participated in this study. The quantitative strand using a lexical decision task revealed significant character transposition effects and intercharacter semantic similarity effects but nonsignificant intercharacter orthographic similarity effects. Such effects were supported and further complemented by qualitative findings from a semistructured interview on learners' thought processes for compound word recognition. The nonsignificant intercharacter orthographic similarity effects were attributable to the meaning relationships between the constituent characters that shared the same radicals. Taken together, the results suggested that CFL learners tended to perceive compound words as whole units. For pedagogical recommendations, this study emphasized the importance of sublexical radical knowledge, morphological awareness for self‐sufficient vocabulary building, and character handwriting for CFL learners' efficient reading development.

Inter-character Orthographic Similarity Effects on the Recognition of Chinese Coordinative Compound Words.

Chinese coordinative compound words are common and unique in inter-character semantic and orthographic relationships. This study explored the inter-character orthographic similarity effects on the recognition of transparent two-morpheme coordinative compound words. Seventy-two native Chinese readers participated in a lexical decision task. The findings demonstrated robust inhibitory inter-character orthographic similarity effects, intra-word character reversal effects, and inter-character semantic similarity effects. These results were compared to those of previous studies on coordinative compound word recognition and on the orthographic similarity phenomenon at both character and word levels. The findings were explained with the multi-level representational model of morphological processing of Chinese compound words (Zhou and Marslen-Wilson in Psychologia 43:47-66, 2000). The model was further extended by adding the activation of morpho-orthographic relationships and the mapping of morphemic orthographic information onto the semantic information of both morphemes and whole words.

Beyond single syllables: The effect of first syllable frequency and orthographic similarity on eye movements during silent reading

The study assessed the eye movements of 60 adult German readers during silent reading of target words, consisting of two and three syllables, embedded in sentences. The first objective was to assess whether the inhibitory effect of first syllable frequency, which was up to now primarily shown for isolated words, generalises to natural reading. The second objective was to assess the effect of orthographic similarity. First syllable frequency was defined phonologically and was based on the SUBTLEX norms for spoken language [Brysbaert et al. (2011). The word frequency effect: A review of recent developments and implications for the choice of frequency estimates in German. Experimental Psychology, 58, 412–424]. Orthographic similarity was indexed by orthographic Levenshtein distance neighbourhood frequency (NF) [Yarkoni, T., Balota, D. & Yap, M. (2008). Moving beyond Coltheart's N: A new measure of orthographic similarity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 971–979]. We found inhibitory effects for first syllable frequency and for orthographic NF. First syllable frequency affected first fixation duration which was considered as reflecting early effects in visual word recognition. Orthographic NF affected “late” measures. These findings show that, first, the effect of first syllable frequency does generalise to silent reading. Second, the effect of orthographic NF, up to now investigated only for short words in the context of English, does generalise to multisyllabic words in the German orthography. Relating the effects to the individual reading rate of the participants revealed that the effects were consistent in fast readers but highly variable in slow readers.

Orthographic similarity: The case of “reversed anagrams”

How orthographically similar are words such as paws and swap, flow and wolf, or live and evil? According to the letter position coding schemes used in models of visual word recognition, these reversed anagrams are considered to be less similar than words that share letters in the same absolute or relative positions (such as home and hose or plan and lane). Therefore, reversed anagrams should not produce the standard orthographic similarity effects found using substitution neighbors (e.g., home, hose). Simulations using the spatial coding model (Davis, Psychological Review 117, 713-758, 2010), for example, predict an inhibitory masked-priming effect for substitution neighbor word pairs but a null effect for reversed anagrams. Nevertheless, we obtained significant inhibitory priming using both stimulus types (Experiment 1). We also demonstrated that robust repetition blindness can be obtained for reversed anagrams (Experiment 2). Reversed anagrams therefore provide a new test for models of visual word recognition and orthographic similarity.

RETRACTED: The visual word form area is organized according to orthography

Efficient word reading depends on a left fusiform brain region, the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA). The internal organization of this brain area is currently unknown, as are the potential factors that might underlie this organization. Here we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPA) to probe the internal organization of the VWFA. Our findings reveal distinct activation patterns in the VWFA associated with individual letter strings, as well as for pictures. This result demonstrates that the VWFA is organized in such a way that similar words (as well as pictures) activate neurons consistently, irrespective of their exact visual appearance or location. The activation patterns for letter strings were driven primarily by orthographic similarity, and we observed no effects of semantics or lexical status (words versus pseudowords). This effect of orthographic similarity was significant only in the VWFA and not in retinotopic areas and object-selective control regions. Given the relationships between the internal organization and how visual input is processed in a brain region, our findings provide important constraints for computational models of how visual word forms are represented in the brain.

Orthography, phonology, short-term memory and the effects of concurrent articulation on rhyme and homophony judgements

The role of phonological short-term memory (pSTM) in phonological judgement tasks of print has been widely explored using concurrent articulation (CA). A number of studies have examined the effects of CA on written word/nonword rhyme and homophone judgements but the findings have been mixed and few studies have examined both tasks within subjects. Also important is the influence of orthographic similarity on such tasks (i.e., items that share phonology often strongly overlap on orthography). Although there are reports of orthographic similarity effects (e.g., LOAD-TOAD vs. DIAL-MILE) on rhyme judgements, it is unknown whether (a) similar orthographic effects are present with homophone judgements, (b) the degree to which such orthographic effects interact with CA, and (c) the degree to which such orthographic effects interact with lexical status (words vs. nonwords). The present work re-examines these three issues in a within subject design. CA and orthographic similarity yielded subtle differences across tasks. CA impaired accuracy for both homophone and rhyme judgement, but only slowed RTs on the rhyme judgement task, and then only for words. Orthographic similarity yielded an increase in false positives for similar items and vice versa for dissimilar items, suggesting a general impact of an orthographically based ‘bias’ in choosing similar or dissimilar sounding items. This pattern was amplified under CA but only on the homophone judgement task. These results highlight important interactions between phonological and orthographic representations in phonological judgement tasks, and the findings are considered both with reference to earlier studies and several models of pSTM.

How cross-language similarity and task demands affect cognate recognition

This study examines how the cross-linguistic similarity of translation equivalents affects bilingual word recognition. Performing one of three tasks, Dutch–English bilinguals processed cognates with varying degrees of form overlap between their English and Dutch counterparts (e.g., lamp–lamp vs. flood-vloed vs. song-lied). In lexical decision, reaction times decreased going from translation equivalents without any cross-linguistic orthographic overlap to very similar but non-identical cognates. Identical cognates showed a large discontinuous processing advantage and were subject to facilitation from phonological similarity. In language decision, the effect of orthographic similarity reversed: a cognate inhibition effect arose, the size of which increased with orthographic similarity. Here identical cognates were markedly slower than other cognates. In progressive demasking, no orthographic similarity effect was found for non-identical cognates, but a semantic similarity effect arose. In addition, there was a facilitation effect for identical cognates of low English frequency. The task-dependent result patterns are interpreted in terms of four accounts of cognate representation and provide evidence in favor of a localist connectionist account.

Identifiable orthographically similar word primes interfere in visual word identification

University students participated in five experiments concerning the effects of unmasked, orthographically similar, primes on visual word recognition in the lexical decision task (LDT) and naming tasks. The modal prime–target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was 350 ms. When primes were words that were orthographic neighbors of the targets, and relative to primes sharing no letters in position with the targets, interference with responses to targets was observed consistently in both tasks. Nonword primes did not consistently interfere except with high-frequency targets in the LDT. Phonological similarity and congruity and incongruity in spelling–sound connections did not account for the effects of orthographic similarity. The results are consistent with competition in lexical processing and suggest shared mechanisms of inhibition for masked and unmasked neighbor primes.

Using enhanced text to facilitate recognition of drug names: Evidence from two experimental studies

Two studies examined the effects of enhanced text on immediate recognition of drug names. Study 1 sampled 102 college students using a between-subjects design, while Study 2 sampled 11 practicing pharmacists and technicians using a within-subjects Latin square design. Both studies utilized a computer-based sequential recognition task where a prime word was shown with various text enhancements, followed by a mask and then a target word. Participants decided whether the target word was the same as the prime word. Stimuli were organized so that 120 trials were matches and 120 trials were mismatches, randomly sequenced for each participant. Results showed an effect of orthographic similarity, where high-similarity name mismatches were missed more often. This effect was independent of the type of text enhancement used and response bias. Case-based enhancements also increased errors of commission (false alarms) significantly. Discussion includes the practical relevance of the data and future directions for research.

Contrasting five different theories of letter position coding: Evidence from orthographic similarity effects.

Five theories of how letter position is coded are contrasted: position-specific slot-coding, Wickelcoding, open-bigram coding (discrete and continuous), and spatial coding. These theories make different predictions regarding the relative similarity of three different types of pairs of letter strings: substitution neighbors, neighbors-once-removed, and double-substitution neighbors. In Experiment 1, we used an illusory word paradigm and found that neighbor-once-removed similarity contexts resulted in fewer illusory word reports than substitution neighbors but more illusory words than double-substitution neighbors. In Experiments 2 and 3, we used a masked form priming technique with a lexical-decision task. The pattern of facilitation was as predicted by spatial coding but was incompatible with slot-coding, Wickelcoding, and both versions of open-bigram coding. These results provide further support for the SOLAR (self-organizing lexical aquisition and recognition) model of visual word identification.

Enemies and Friends in the Neighborhood: Orthographic Similarity Effects in Semantic Categorization.

Studies investigating orthographic similarity effects in semantic tasks have produced inconsistent results. The authors investigated orthographic similarity effects in animacy decision and in contrast with previous studies, they took semantic congruency into account. In Experiments 1 and 2, performance to a target (cat) was better if a previously studied neighbor (rat) was congruent (i.e., belonged to the same animate-inanimate category) than it was if it was incongruent (e.g., mat). In Experiments 3 and 4, performance was better for targets with more preexisting congruent neighbors than for targets with more preexisting incongruent neighbors. These results demonstrate that orthographic similarity effects in semantic categorization are conditional on semantic congruency. This strongly suggests that semantic information becomes available before orthographic processing has been completed.

Separating effects of orthographic similarity and contour summation in the identification of masked letter strings.

We separated effects of contour summation and orthographic similarity under masking conditions, by comparing identification with simultaneous and sequentially presented letter strings, which either did or did not overlap spatially. With overlapping simultaneous stimuli, performance was better for strings with similar contours than for strings with the same letters (the orthographic similarity condition). This suggests that contour summation effects were strongest in the condition where stimuli had similar contours. With sequential presentations, performance in the similar contour and the orthographically similar conditions was equated when the stimuli were overlapping. However, effects of contour summation decreased when prime and target letters were spatially displaced, whereas performance in the orthographically similar condition was maintained. We conclude that effects of orthographic similarity can be distinguished from effects of contour summation, under masking conditions.

Separating effects of orthographic similarity and contour summation in the identification of masked letter strings

We separated effects of contour summation and orthographic similarity under masking conditions, by comparing identification with simultaneous and sequentially presented letter strings, which either did or did not overlap spatially. With overlapping simultaneous stimuli, performance was better for strings with similar contours than for strings with the same letters (the orthographic similarity condition). This suggests that contour summation effects were strongest in the condition where stimuli had similar contours. With sequential presentations, performance in the similar contour and the orthographically similar conditions was equated when the stimuli were overlapping. However, effects of contour summation decreased when prime and target letters were spatially displaced, whereas performance in the orthographically similar condition was maintained. We conclude that effects of orthographic similarity can be distinguished from effects of contour summation, under masking conditions.

When lust is lost: orthographic similarity effects in the encoding and reconstruction of rapidly presented word lists.

A reconstructive account of memory is presented to explain the finding that report of a word (C2) appearing in a rapidly presented list is reduced when it is orthographically similar to an earlier word (C1) in the list. By this account, the effect arises when the list is reconstructed from memory, not at the time of list presentation as proposed by accounts based on failure of encoding or tokenization. The reconstructive account is supported by a series of experiments that show a retroactive effect in which report of C1 is enhanced by similarity to C2; a nonword C1 can either interfere with or enhance report of C2, depending on how accurately C1 is encoded; manipulation of reconstructive processes can eliminate or enhance the effect of orthographic similarity; and a bidirectional trade-off in the report of an orthographically similar C1-C2 pair, whereby report of one member compromises report of the other.

When lust is lost: Orthographic similarity effects in the encoding and reconstruction of rapidly presented word lists.

When lust is lost: Orthographic similarity effects in the encoding and reconstruction of rapidly presented word lists.

The effect of orthographic similarity on lexical retrieval: Resolving neighborhood conflicts

This paper reviews recent research on the effects of orthographic neighbors on visual word recognition in order to resolve apparently contradictory findings. The review reveals that the empirical evidence is not as contradictory as has been claimed. Neighbors have consistently been reported to facilitate responses to words in naming and lexical decision tasks. Inhibitory effects of neighbors appear to arise from sophisticated guessing strategies in the perceptual identification task or lexical decision strategies adopted in unusual stimulus environments. For English words, there is minimal evidence of competitive influences on lexical retrieval due to higher frequency neighbors. Such effects are more common in such languages as French and Spanish, perhaps because they embody a more consistent relationship between orthography and phonology. These findings provide important constraints on assumptions about the form of lexical representations and the parallel activation mechanisms assumed to underlie lexical retrieval.