Semantic Priming Effects Research Articles

Neural changes in sign language vocabulary learning: Tracking lexical integration with ERP measures

The present study aimed to investigate the neural changes related to the early stages of sign language vocabulary learning. Hearing non-signers were exposed to Catalan Sign Language (LSC) signs in three laboratory learning sessions over the course of a week. Participants completed two priming tasks designed to examine learning-related neural changes by means of N400 responses. In a semantic decision task, participants evaluated whether written Catalan word pairs were semantically related or not. The experimental manipulation included prime-target phonological overlap (or not) of the corresponding LSC sign translations. In a LSC primed lexical decision task, participants saw pairs of signs and had to determine if the targets were real LSC signs or not. The experimental design included pairs of signs that were semantically related or unrelated. The results of the LSC lexical decision task showed N400 lexicality and semantic priming effects in the third session. Also in the third session, N400 effects related to the activation of LSC phonology were observed during word processing in the semantic decision task. Overall, our findings suggest rapid neural changes occurring during the initial stages of intensive sign language vocabulary training. The results are discussed in relation to the temporality of lexicality and semantic effects, as well as their potential relation to linguistic features of sign languages.

The how and the when of semantic illusions in native and non-native languages

Abstract The nature and processing of semantic illusions (SI; when speakers fail to notice an anomalous word in a sentence that is contextually perfectly aligned with world knowledge) have been largely studied during first language comprehension. Although this issue is not free of controversy, findings sustain The Node Structure Theory, according to which SI is a phonological and/or semantic priming effect which occurs due to phonological and/or semantic links existing between the correct and the anomalous word. However, the question as to whether the same underlying mechanisms can be found in bilinguals and whether the effect is modulated by age of language acquisition (AoA) and language dominance remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to examine this issue on sequential European Portuguese-German bilinguals (and their respective control groups) using a self-paced reading paradigm. The sentences’ language, AoA (early vs. late), and type of target word used (correct vs. anomalous) were manipulated. Results showed the occurrence of SI, independently of language and AoA. Therefore, findings suggest that SI occur due to a semantic overlap between critical words and are similarly processed in L1 and L2.

Semantic priming by task-irrelevant speech: category-level or item-level processing?

ABSTRACT Recent studies show that task-irrelevant speech affects subsequent behaviour. For instance, category-exemplar production is primed if those exemplars were previously auditory distractors that accompanied the presentation of visual digits for serial recall (Röer et al., 2017. Semantic priming by irrelevant speech. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24(4), 1205–1210. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1186-3). This study examines semantic organisation as a boundary condition for the semantic priming effect. In a between-participants design, sequences of auditory distractors were either semantically organised (eight exemplars from one category) or random (one exemplar from each of eight categories). Semantic priming was measured by comparing production probability of previously encountered words against a matched unencountered set. Prior research indicates that an unexpected categorical change in task-irrelevant speech disrupts performance, suggesting processing of shared categorical membership enhances semantic priming (e.g. Vachon et al., 2020. The automaticity of semantic processing revisited: Auditory distraction by a categorical deviation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(7), 1360–1397. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge000071). Consistent with these findings, semantic priming was found when distractor words were semantically organised but was absent with randomly presented exemplars, offering insight into the semantic processing of background sound.

A revisit to interactions of stimulus quality and semantic context on N400 in visual word recognition.

Much behavioral research has revealed interactive effects between stimulus quality and semantic priming in visual word recognition, practically in favor of the interactive activation model. However, the limited number of event-related brain potential (ERP) studies have yielded inconsistent results considering this interaction's impact on N400 amplitude. The current ERP study aimed to examine whether the joint effects of stimulus quality and semantic priming were specific to the lexical decision task. We used both behavioral measures and ERP recordings to evaluate the joint effects of stimulus degradation (i.e. highly vs. slightly degraded) and semantic priming (i.e. semantically related vs. unrelated) in a lexical decision task involving visual recognition of Chinese characters. The results showed significant degradation-by-priming interactions on response times and N400 amplitude ( P < 0.05), with larger semantic priming effects on slightly degraded targets. These converging behavioral and electrophysiological findings provide evidence in accordance with the interactive activation models of visual word recognition, in which the early-stage visual processing (i.e. degradation) cascades into the later-stage semantic processing (i.e. priming), thus yielding interactions observed in N400 amplitude.

The role of semantic information in Chinese word segmentation

ABSTRACT Word segmentation is crucial for reading in Chinese, where the absence of explicit word boundaries poses a distinct challenge. Previous studies in Chinese have examined how lexical and sub-lexical variables affect word segmentation. The present study investigated whether higher-level semantic information affects word segmentation using a primed word segmentation task with Overlapping Ambiguous Strings (OAS). An OAS is a three-character string in Chinese (e.g. ABC [in Latin letters]) where the middle character can constitute a word with both the left (word AB) and right (word BC) characters. The OAS was preceded by a semantic or repetition prime (presented for 42, 83, or 200 ms, across participants), priming either AB or BC. The semantic priming effect occurred at the 200-ms Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA), whereas the repetition priming effect occurred at both 83 and 200-ms SOAs. These findings demonstrate that semantic information can affect word segmentation in Chinese within 200 ms.

Semantic versus perceptual priming: dissecting their impact on intuitive judgments of semantic coherence.

This research explores the mechanisms underlying the intuitive processing of semantic coherence, focusing on the effects of semantic and perceptual priming on semantic coherence detection. Two studies examined how these priming types influence individuals' abilities to discern semantic incoherence. In Study 1, we used solutions to semantically coherent triads as primes, finding that such priming significantly improves participants' accuracy and confidence in identifying incoherent elements within word tetrads. These results corroborate the hypothesis that intuitive judgments in linguistic tasks are closely tied to the processing fluency elicited by semantic connections. In Study 2, we show that perceptual priming does not significantly enhance accuracy, albeit it does increase the confidence with which individuals make their judgments. Distinct effects of semantic and perceptual priming on intuitive judgments highlight the complex interplay between processing fluency and affect in shaping intuitive judgments of semantic coherence. We discuss the nuanced roles of semantic and perceptual factors in influencing the accuracy and confidence of intuitive decisions.

The Effects of Problematic Internet Use and Emotional Connotation on Internet Slang Processing: Evidence from a Lexical Decision Task.

Young people use slang for identifying themselves with a particular social group, gaining social recognition and respect from that group, and expressing their emotional state. One feature of Internet slang is its active use by youth in online communication, which, under certain conditions, may cause problematic Internet use (PIU). We conducted two studies in young Russian speakers (n1 = 115, n2 = 106). In study 1, participants were asked to rate a set of slang and common words using Self-Assessment Manikin. The study revealed that the most reliable predictor of higher emotional ratings was word familiarity. There were no significant effects of slang vs. common words or word frequency. In study 2, we used a dual lexical decision task to reveal the effects of word characteristics and propensity for PIU on reaction time (RT) for Internet slang words in pairs with semantically related vs. unrelated common words. Study 2 did not reveal any significant semantic priming effect. Word frequency was a significant predictor of lexical decision facilitation. Common, but not slang, word valence and dominance significantly affected RT in the opposite direction. Individuals with higher cognitive preoccupation with the Internet responded significantly faster, while those more likely to use online communication for mood regulation responded significantly slower to the stimuli. Apparently, on explicit and implicit levels, in-depth knowledge of Internet slang can be one the PIU markers. The results are discussed in line with Davis' approach to determining the general pathological Internet use.

Weaker semantic priming effects with number words in the second language of math learning.

Bilinguals' exact number representations result from associations between language-independent Indo-Arabic digits ("5"), two verbal codes ("fünf" and "cinq") and a common, largely overlapping semantic representation. To compare the lexical and semantic access to number representations between two languages, we recruited a sample of balanced highly proficient German-French adult bilinguals. At school, those bilinguals learned mathematics in German for 6 years (LM1) and then switched to French (LM2) in 7th grade (12 years old) until 13th grade. After the brief presentation of primes (51 ms) consisting of Indo-Arabic digits or number words in German or French, an Indo-Arabic digits target had to be read in either German or French in an online study. Stimuli were numbers from 1 to 9, and we varied the absolute distance between primes and targets from 0 (i.e., 1-1) to 3 (1-4; as in Reynvoet et al., 2002). The priming distance effect (PDE) was used to measure the strength of numerical semantic association. We find comparable PDEs with Indo-Arabic digits and German number word primes, independently from the target naming language. However, we did not find a clear PDE with French number word primes, neither when naming targets in German, nor in French. The weaker PDE from LM2 compared to LM1 primes is interpreted as a weaker lexico-semantic association of LM2 number words. These results indicate a critical role of the LM1 and further emphasize the role of language in processing numbers. They might have important implications for designing bilingual school curricula. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-language semantic-affective interaction – with evidence from Chinese EFL learners

Abstract Semantic and affective priming have long been treated separately in psycholinguistic studies. Recently, however, the question of whether and how these two primings interact has become controversial, especially in cross-language contexts where such discussions are rare. In the present study, four mixed-design experiments were conducted with Chinese EFL learners to investigate cross-language semantic-affective interactions: 3 (prime valence: negative, positive, neutral) × 2 (semantic relatedness: related, unrelated). Results show that semantic priming effects occurred in the L1L1 and L1L2 conditions, whereas affective priming effects were observed in the L2L2 condition. In the L2L1 priming condition, only emotion primes induced cross-language priming. These results suggest that semantic and emotional accesses are activated automatically and separately, but can facilitate cross-language word processing mutually. The results support the hierarchical representation of semantic features of emotion words from L1 to L2 in the unbalanced bilingual mental lexicon, while affective attributes are spread across a distributed network.

Supplemental Material for Weaker Semantic Priming Effects With Number Words in the Second Language of Math Learning

Supplemental Material for Weaker Semantic Priming Effects With Number Words in the Second Language of Math Learning

Brain Signatures of Embodied Semantics and Language: A Consensus Paper.

According to embodied theories (including embodied, embedded, extended, enacted, situated, and grounded approaches to cognition), language representation is intrinsically linked to our interactions with the world around us, which is reflected in specific brain signatures during language processing and learning. Moving on from the original rivalry of embodied vs. amodal theories, this consensus paper addresses a series of carefully selected questions that aim at determining when and how rather than whether motor and perceptual processes are involved in language processes. We cover a wide range of research areas, from the neurophysiological signatures of embodied semantics, e.g., event-related potentials and fields as well as neural oscillations, to semantic processing and semantic priming effects on concrete and abstract words, to first and second language learning and, finally, the use of virtual reality for examining embodied semantics. Our common aim is to better understand the role of motor and perceptual processes in language representation as indexed by language comprehension and learning. We come to the consensus that, based on seminal research conducted in the field, future directions now call for enhancing the external validity of findings by acknowledging the multimodality, multidimensionality, flexibility and idiosyncrasy of embodied and situated language and semantic processes.

Shared and distinct neural correlates of first and second language morphological processing in bilingual brain

While morphology constitutes a crucial component of the human language system, the neural bases of morphological processing in the human brain remains to be elucidated. The current study aims at exploring the extent to which the second language (L2) morphological processing would resemble or differ from that of their first language (L1) in adult Chinese-English bilinguals. Bilingual participants were asked to complete a morphological priming lexical decision task drawing on derivational morphology, which is present for both Chinese and English, when their electrophysiological and optical responses were recorded concurrently. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) revealed a neural dissociation between morphological and semantic priming effects in the left fronto-temporal network, while L1 Chinese engaged enhanced activation in the left prefrontal cortex for morphological parsing relative to L2 English. In the early stage of lexical processing, cross-language morphological processing manifested a difference in degree, not in kind, as revealed by the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) effect. In addition, L1 and L2 shared both early and late structural parsing processes (P250 and 300 ~ 500 ms negativity, respectively). Therefore, the current results support a unified competition model for bilingual development, where bilinguals would primarily employ L1 neural resources for L2 morphological representation and processing.

Contextual information triggers attentional selection: a dissociation between semantic priming and response compatibility effects

Contextual information triggers attentional selection: a dissociation between semantic priming and response compatibility effects

Associations acquired through fast mapping evoke an N400 semantic priming effect when feature overlap is high

Associations acquired through fast mapping evoke an N400 semantic priming effect when feature overlap is high

Semantic Priming and Its Link to Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory in Children with Learning Disorders.

Children with learning disorders (LD children) often have heterogeneous cognitive impairments that affect their ability to learn and use basic academic skills. A proposed cause for this variability has been working memory (WM) capacity. Altered patterns of event-related potentials (ERPs) in these children have also been found in the N400 component associated with semantic priming. However, regarding the semantic priming effect in LD children, no distinction has been made for children with varying WM abilities. This study aims to explore the relationship of WM with the brain's electrophysiological response that underlies semantic priming in LD children that performed a lexical decision task. A total of 40 children (8-10 years old) participated: 28 children with LD and 12 age-matched controls. The ERPs were recorded for each group and analyzed with permutation-based t-tests. The N400 effect was observed only in the control group, and both groups showed a late positive complex (LPC). Permutation-based regression analyses were performed for the results from the LD group using the WISC-IV indices (e.g., Verbal Comprehension and WM) as independent predictors of the ERPs. The Verbal Comprehension Index, but not the WM index, was a significant predictor of the N400 and LPC effects in LD children.

N400 event-related brain potential index of semantic processing and two-year clinical outcomes in persons at high risk for psychosis: A longitudinal study.

The N400 event-related brain potential (ERP) semantic priming effect reflects greater activation of contextually related versus unrelated concepts in long-term semantic memory. Deficits in this measure have been found in persons with schizophrenia and those at clinical high risk (CHR) for this disorder. In CHR patients, we previously found that these deficits predict poorer social functional outcomes after 1 year. In the present study, we tested whether these deficits predicted greater psychosis-spectrum symptom severity and functional impairment over 2 years. We measured N400 semantic priming effects at baseline in CHR patients (n = 47) who viewed prime words each followed by a related/unrelated target word at stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 300 or 750 ms. We measured psychosis-spectrum symptoms using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms and role and social functioning with the Global Functioning: Role and Social scales, at baseline, 1 (n = 29) and 2 years (n = 25). There was a significant interaction between the N400 semantic priming effect at the 300-ms SOA and time on GF:Role scores, indicating that, contrary to expectations, smaller baseline N400 semantic priming effects were associated with more improvement in role functioning from baseline to Year 1, but baseline N400 priming effects did not predict role functioning at Year 2. N400 priming effects were not significantly associated with different trajectories in psychosis-spectrum symptoms or social functioning. Thus, CHR patients' N400 semantic priming effects did not predict clinical outcomes over 2 years, suggesting that this ERP measure may have greater value as a state or short-term prognostic neurophysiological biomarker.

The Affordance Directive: Affordance Priming Facilitates Object Detection Similar to Semantic Priming.

The present study investigated differences in priming perceptions of target objects via affordance or semantic primes. Affordances denote possibilities for action in relation to objects (e.g., chair - sit), whereas semantic primes describe related concepts and features of objects (e.g., chair - legs). In Experiments 1A/1B the effects of affordance and semantic priming were compared via a semantic-categorization task using a normed word list of objects. In Experiments 2-4 we investigated affordance priming on object identification of pictures using a shoebox-classification task. In Experiment 1A participants were asked to respond by categorizing the presented word as concrete or abstract. Experiment 1B was similar to 1A, but with a 1000 ms response deadline. Experiment 2 presented target objects as words or photographs. Experiment 3 presented target objects as photographs degraded at three levels (clear, medium blur, extreme blur). Experiment 4 presented target objects as photographs that began degraded and slowly became clear. Experiment 1B found word priming for semantic primes, but not affordances. In contrast, Experiments 2-4 found object priming was facilitated by both affordances and semantic primes. Collectively, our results indicate that affordances facilitate object classification.

Establishing semantic relatedness through ratings, reaction times, and semantic vectors: A database in Polish.

This study presents a Polish semantic priming dataset and semantic similarity ratings for word pairs obtained with native Polish speakers, as well as a range of semantic spaces. The word pairs include strongly related, weakly related, and semantically unrelated word pairs. The rating study (Experiment 1) confirmed that the three conditions differed in semantic relatedness. The semantic priming lexical decision study with a carefully matched subset of the stimuli (Experiment 2), revealed strong semantic priming effects for strongly related word pairs, whereas weakly related word pairs showed a smaller but still significant priming effect relative to semantically unrelated word pairs. The datasets of both experiments and those of SimLex-999 for Polish were then used in a robust semantic model selection from existing and newly trained semantic spaces. This database of semantic vectors, semantic relatedness ratings, and behavioral data collected for all word pairs enable future researchers to benchmark new vectors against this dataset. Furthermore, the new vectors are made freely available for researchers. Although similar semantically strongly and weakly related word pairs are available in other languages, this is the first freely available database for Polish, that combines measures of semantic distance and human data.

Out-of-vocabulary but not meaningless: Evidence for semantic-priming effects in pseudoword processing.

Nonarbitrary phenomena in language, such as systematic association in the form-meaning interface, have been widely reported in the literature. Exploiting such systematic associations previous studies have demonstrated that pseudowords can be indicative of meaning. However, whether semantic activation from words and pseudowords is supported by the very same processes, activating a common semantic memory system, is currently not known. Here, we take advantage of recent progresses from computational linguistics models allowing to induce meaning representations for out-of-vocabulary strings of letters via domain-general associative-learning mechanisms applied to natural language. We combined these models with data from priming tasks, in which participants are showed two strings of letters presented sequentially one after the other and are then asked to indicate if the latter is a word or a pseudoword. In Experiment 1 we reanalyzed the data of the largest behavioral database on semantic priming, while in Experiment 2 we ran an independent replication on a new language, Italian, controlling for a series of possible confounds. Results were consistent across the two experiments and showed that the prime-word meaning interferes with the semantic pattern elicited by the target pseudoword (i.e., at increasing estimated semantic relatedness between prime word and target pseudoword, participants' reaction times increased and accuracy decreased). These findings indicate that the same associative mechanisms governing word meaning also subserve the processing of pseudowords, suggesting in turn that human semantic memory can be conceived as a distributional system that builds upon a general-purpose capacity of extracting knowledge from complex statistical patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Do symbol and device matter? The effects of symbol choice of fake news flags and device on human interaction with fake news on social media platforms

Social media platforms need to respond effectively to the accusation of distributing fake news. Thus, this study investigates the extent to which different types of fake news flags (Pinocchio symbol, stop symbol, caution symbol) and the type of device (smartphone vs. PC) used to engage with (fake) news posts influence believability, user engagement, and cognitive elaboration. We test for such differences in an experimental design using data from 256 participants exposed to artificially generated Facebook posts on political (fake) news. Results confirm that fake news flags provide an effective countermeasure against believing in fake news. However, the semantic priming effect of different warning symbols used, which is inextricably intertwined with the device on which fake news is consumed, makes the difference between effective and less effective fake news flags. Smartphones do not per se increase (fake) news believability compared to PCs, but our findings suggest that stronger warnings may be required on smartphones than on PCs. Overall, this study provides a rich and contextualized understanding of fake news flags and user interaction with fake news, pointing to some important practical implications for social media platform designers.