Word Stimuli Research Articles

Spatial location does not consistently constrain perceptual learning in speech

Recent research showed selectivity of perceptual learning in speech to linguistic variables and non-linguistic variables. With regard to the latter Keetels et al. (2016) reported that perceptual learning for one spatial location does not fully generalize to another. This spatial selectivity has been suggested to indicate that learning may target non-linguistic representations. We test whether spatial selectivity is a general property of perceptual learning or whether it is related to specific design choices, such as using a single nonword throughout the study. Therefore, we aimed to replicate spatial selectivity with a paradigm that makes use of a larger set of word and nonword stimuli. However, in three experiments, one in-person and two web-based, no effect of spatial selectivity was observed. A Bayesian analysis suggests that the null hypothesis is better supported by the data than the alternative hypothesis based on the previously reported effect size. Repercussions for the debate about pre-lexical representations in speech processing are discussed.

LASTU: A psycholinguistic search tool for Finnish lexical stimuli

LASTU is a tool for searching for Finnish language stimulus words for psycholinguistic studies. The tool allows the user to query a number of properties, including forms, lemmas, frequencies, and morphological features. It also includes two new measures for quantifying lemma and form ambiguity. The tool is written in Python and is available for Windows and macOS platforms. It is available at https://osf.io/j8v6b/. Included with the tool is a database based on a massive corpus of dependency-parsed Finnish language data crawled from the Internet (over 5 billion tokens). While LASTU has been developed for researchers working on the Finnish language, the openly available implementation can also be applied to other languages.

Release from response interference in color-word contingency learning

In identifying the print colors of words when some combinations of color and word occur more frequently than others, people quickly show evidence of learning these associations. This contingency learning effect is evident in faster and more accurate responses to high-contingency combinations than to low-contingency combinations. Across four experiments, we systematically varied the number of response-irrelevant word stimuli connected to response-relevant colors. In each experiment, one group experienced the typical contingency learning paradigm with three colors linked to three words; other groups saw more words (six or twelve) linked to the same three colors. All four experiments disconfirmed a central prediction derived from the Parallel Episodic Processing (PEP 2.0) model (Schmidt et al., 2016)—that the magnitude of the contingency learning effect should remain stable as more words are added to the response-irrelevant dimension, as long as the color-word contingency ratios are maintained. Responses to high-contingency items did slow down numerically as the number of words increased between groups, consistent with the prediction from PEP 2.0, but these changes were unreliable. Inconsistent with PEP 2.0, however, overall response time did not slow down and responses to low-contingency items actually sped up as the number of words increased across groups. These findings suggest that the PEP 2.0 model should be modified to incorporate response interference caused by high-probability associations when responding to low-probability combinations.

Decoding Semantics from Dynamic Brain Activation Patterns: From Trials to Task in EEG/MEG Source Space.

The temporal dynamics within the semantic brain network and its dependence on stimulus and task parameters are still not well understood. Here, we addressed this by decoding task as well as stimulus information from source-estimated EEG/MEG human data. We presented the same visual word stimuli in a lexical decision (LD) and three semantic decision (SD) tasks. The meanings of the presented words varied across five semantic categories. Source space decoding was applied over time in five ROIs in the left hemisphere (anterior and posterior temporal lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, primary visual areas, and angular gyrus) and one in the right hemisphere (anterior temporal lobe). Task decoding produced sustained significant effects in all ROIs from 50 to 100 ms, both when categorizing tasks with different semantic demands (LD-SD) as well as for similar semantic tasks (SD-SD). In contrast, a semantic word category could only be decoded in lATL, rATL, PTC, and IFG, between 250 and 500 ms. Furthermore, we compared two approaches to source space decoding: conventional ROI-by-ROI decoding and combined-ROI decoding with back-projected activation patterns. The former produced more reliable results for word category decoding while the latter was more informative for task decoding. This indicates that task effects are distributed across the whole semantic network while stimulus effects are more focal. Our results demonstrate that the semantic network is widely distributed but that bilateral anterior temporal lobes together with control regions are particularly relevant for the processing of semantic information.

The Impact of Trained Conditions on the Generalization of Learning Gains Following Voice Discrimination Training.

Auditory training can lead to notable enhancements in specific tasks, but whether these improvements generalize to untrained tasks like speech-in-noise (SIN) recognition remains uncertain. This study examined how training conditions affect generalization. Fifty-five young adults were divided into "Trained-in-Quiet" (n = 15), "Trained-in-Noise" (n = 20), and "Control" (n = 20) groups. Participants completed two sessions. The first session involved an assessment of SIN recognition and voice discrimination (VD) with word or sentence stimuli, employing combined fundamental frequency (F0) + formant frequencies voice cues. Subsequently, only the trained groups proceeded to an interleaved training phase, encompassing six VD blocks with sentence stimuli, utilizing either F0-only or formant-only cues. The second session replicated the interleaved training for the trained groups, followed by a second assessment conducted by all three groups, identical to the first session. Results showed significant improvements in the trained task regardless of training conditions. However, VD training with a single cue did not enhance VD with both cues beyond control group improvements, suggesting limited generalization. Notably, the Trained-in-Noise group exhibited the most significant SIN recognition improvements posttraining, implying generalization across tasks that share similar acoustic conditions. Overall, findings suggest training conditions impact generalization by influencing processing levels associated with the trained task. Training in noisy conditions may prompt higher auditory and/or cognitive processing than training in quiet, potentially extending skills to tasks involving challenging listening conditions, such as SIN recognition. These insights hold significant theoretical and clinical implications, potentially advancing the development of effective auditory training protocols.

The impact of emotional valence on generalization gradients

Generalization enables individuals to respond to novel stimuli based on previous experiences. The degree to which organisms respond is determined by their physical resemblance to the original conditioned stimulus (CS+), with a stronger response elicited by more similar stimuli, resulting in similarity-based generalization gradients. Recent research showed that cognitive or conceptual dimensions also result in gradients similar to those observed with manipulations of physical dimensions. Such findings suggest that attributes beyond physical similarity play a role in shaping generalization gradients. However, despite its adaptive relevance for survival, there is no study exploring the effectiveness of affective dimensions in shaping generalization gradients. In two experiments (135 Spanish and 150 English participants, respectively), we used an online predictive learning task, in which different stimuli (words and Gabor patches) were paired with the presence – or absence – of a fictitious shock. After training, we assessed whether valence (i.e., hedonic experience) conveyed by words shape generalization gradients. In Experiment 1, the outcome expectancy decreased monotonically with variations in valence of Spanish words, mirroring the gradient obtained with the physical dimension (line orientation). In Experiment 2, conducted with English words, a similar gradient was observed when non-trained (i.e., generalization) words varied along the valence dimension, but not when words were of neutral valence. The consistency of these findings across two different languages strengthens the reliability and validity of the affective dimension as a determinant of generalization gradients. Furthermore, our data highlight the importance of considering the role of affective features in generalization responses, advancing the interplay between emotion, language, and learning.

Асоціативно-смислове поле слова-стимулу росія під час російсько-української війни

The article traces the peculiarities of the images of the linguistic picture of the world and the value orientations of Ukrainian society. The purpose of the study is to analyze the associative field of the word-stimulus russia in the conditions of the current Russian-Ukrainian war, based on the directed associative experiment method. Achieving the specified goal involves the following tasks: to identify associations for the designation of the stimulus word russia that were used by the survey participants; determine the structure of the associative-semantic field of the russia stimulus word; outline the main thematic groups of the stimulus word russia; to determine quantitative indicators of reactions within the associative field. As a result of the survey conducted among the students of the Lviv Polytechnic National University, 685 word-reactions to the russia stimulus word were found and the frequency of the associates use in the core (49%), near (30%) and distant periphery (21%) was determined. The core of the associative field contains the most relevant and stereotyped concepts of the mental lexicon: enemy 78, aggressor 54, swamp 51, bottom 32, rasha (rashka) 18, murderer 16, occupier 14, parasha (parashka) 13, invader 12, moskoviia 12, evil 11, mordor 11, hatred 11. Most of the detected associates have negative meaning, which is the evidence of the disdainful attitude of the informants towards the aggressor country. We can consider only the reactions country, brothers, neighbor, silence to be neutral in meaning. Among the associates, a significant number of expressively marked names was recorded, which indicates the dominance of the emotional level of images of consciousness over the mental one, as well as the maintenance of a certain balance between the objective (logical-conceptual) and subjective (value-motivational) images of consciousness of the speakers. The presence of a significant amount of invective vocabulary among the associates is caused, in our opinion, firstly, by the opportunity to freely express themselves because the questionnaire was anonymous, and, secondly, by negative feelings caused by the word-stimulus. The experimental material confirmed that the generalized perception of Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine shifted from neutral to threatening, and the specific perception made it possible to perceive russia as a real enemy participating in hostilities against our country.

Using a combination technique for the assessment of students’ cognitive structures on acid–base chemistry

This study aims to determine the cognitive structures of students at different educational levels (8th grade and 12th grade) related to acid–base chemistry. The research was designed as a case study and structured in two stages. The first stage analyzed concepts related to acid–base chemistry and their direction and strength in students’ knowledge structures. The second stage determined the descriptive and structural features of students’ knowledge structures related to acid–base chemistry in a more holistic approach. The study was carried out with a total of 160 students, 80 grade 8th and 80 12th grade students. A word association test (WAT) and the free writing technique (FWT) were used together. In the WAT, ten different frequency ranges were determined forming cognitive structure maps of the students. With high-frequency values on the map, it was found that the number of stimulus and response words decreased but the strength of associations increased. In frequency ranges where the frequency values of associations were low, it was found that the number of stimulus and response words increased and the cognitive structure organization was at the most advanced level compared to other frequency ranges, but the strength of associations was weak. In general, it was observed that there were no bidirectional and cross-associations between the concepts in the cognitive structures of the students about chemistry and that there was a static structure that included one-way associations only. Additionally, the concepts in the cognitive structures of students related to acid–base chemistry were analyzed in terms of their structural characteristics. It was found that, in the cognitive structures of the students there were no associations between many concepts that should be related to each other.

Functioning of borrowed words in the mental lexicon of Ukrainians

The article analyzes the associative meaning of the stimulus word "donat" in the mental lexicon of native speakers of the Ukrainian language, raises the problem of the specificity of learning borrowed words in the Ukrainian language. The role of the media in the introduction of a new lexical unit into mass circulation and aspects of the actualization of the use of the word due to the influence of social and political events are considered. The question of the functioning of new lexical units and their place in the mental lexicon is highlighted. Shades of associative meanings of the stimulus words "donate" and "help" were studied. The obtained results confirm that the associative experiment can provide not only linguistic, but also psychological and social information.

Lexical-semantic abilities of five-to-six-year-old children

<p><strong>Introduction.</strong> The development of the semantic level of the language system begins at the end of the first year of life, when a child begins to use the first words. During childhood, the child gradually increases his/her vocabulary and learns semantic characteristics. The main aim of this paper is to determine the lexical-semantic abilities of preschool children.</p> <p><strong>Methods.</strong> The sample included 50 children of both sexes, aged five to six years. According to age, the respondents were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of five-year-olds, and the second of six-year-olds. The Semantic Test and the Free Word Association Test were used in the research. The semantic test assessed the development of the following categories of words: homonyms, antonyms, synonyms, and metonyms. The free word association test was used to assess the types of responses after a given stimulus word.</p> <p><strong>Results.</strong> The results showed that six-year-olds had higher average values compared to five-year-olds on the total score, as well as on individual lexical categories of the Semantic Test. It was also shown that five-year-old girls had higher average values compared to boys of the same age on the Semantic Test. No statistically significant differences were found between five- and six-year-olds in terms of the representation of certain types of answers on the Free Word Association Test. As for sex, it was shown that on the Free Word Association Test, girls had statistically significantly higher number of missing answers compared to boys.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion.</strong> It was concluded that the lexical-semantic abilities of preschool children depended on their age, and that there was certain regularity in the development of the semantic features of words and the lexical-semantic structure</p>

Modeling of the Associative Field Россия/Russia According to Associative Dictionaries

Modeling associative fields is one of the urgent missions of psycholinguistics. This contributes to establishing the nature of the speech actions, which reflect psychological, linguistic, ethnoand socio-cultural information. In this paper, the associates for the verbal stimuli Россия and Russia, presented in the associative dictionaries of the Russian and English languages, are analyzed. Analysis of the nature of the means of prediction allowed us to establish the predominance of conceptual reactions in the structure of the associative fields Россия and Russia: in Russian associative dictionaries their share is about 40%, in the Edinburgh associative thesaurus it is 51%, in the dictionary of free associations, rhyme and word fragment norms of South Florida – 53%. Reactions-representations contain extralinguistic information reflecting autoand heterostereotypes about Russia in a certain historical period of time. The largest share of associated representations was found in the Edinburgh Associative Thesaurus (39%). Most reactions of this type are associated with the successes of the USSR in the space sphere directly during the period of collecting and fixing associative data (sputnik, satellite, cosmos, space, space program, etc.). The presentation reactions of American subjects are less frequent (37%). For Americans, Russia is something far away and foreign. Also, in the experiment with the participation of Americans, the connections of the incentive Russia with the Second World War and its consequences (Berlin wall, Nazi, Hitler, cold war) were actualized. Reactions-representations in associative dictionaries of the Russian language reflect autostereotypes: strength and greatness (великая, сила, мощь), spaciousness (большая, простор, громада, размах)), etc. The share of operational reactions in Russian associative dictionaries decreased by 14%, which indicates the leveling of language guidelines when updating speech action. The models of associative fields of Russia contain a low percentage of operational reactions, which indicates an insufficient level of "appropriation" of a fragment of reality represented by a stimulus word.

The Image of the Family in the Minds of Russian-Speaking Representatives of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan

The article deals with the identification of the image of the family in the minds of the Russian-speaking representatives of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and with the comparison of the resulting image with the image of the family in the minds of representatives of Russian culture. The relevance of the study is determined by the insufficient research of the Kyrgyz linguistic picture of the world from the point of view of psycholinguistics.Free association experiment and semantic gestalt technique were key research methods. The author analyzed 259 associations obtained in the course of a free associative experiment and the results of a directed associative experiment in which 82 participants took part. The identification of the image of the family concept in the minds of the bearers of Russian culture was based on the the associations recorded in the associative dictionaries of the Russian language (the Russian Regional Associative Dictionary Thesaurus and the Slavic Associative Dictionary) were analyzed. A total of 1130 associations from two dictionaries were analyzed. The data obtained during the free associative experiment, as well as the associations recorded in lexicographic sources, were analyzed using the semantic gestalt technique of Yu. N. Karaulov.As a result of the study, the structure of the associative field of the stimulus word family among representatives of modern Kyrgyz culture was determined. In the course of a comparative analysis, similarities and differences in the associative gestalt of representatives of Russian and Kyrgyz culture were identified.The theoretical and practical significance of the work is due, first of all, to the fact that the methodology used in the work, can be successfully applied in organizing and conducting further psycholinguistic research of both the Kyrgyz and any other culture. The obtained results can be used in the course of studying courses in the theory of language, psycholinguistics, linguoculturology, intercultural communication.

Relevant content of the basic value <i>Liebe / love</i> in the German linguoculture

The object of the research is the associative field of Liebe / love, representing the same basic value, the subject is the psychologically relevant content of the value, as well as the content dynamics of the basic value, reflected in the nature of the associates. The aim of the study is to establish the psychologically relevant content of the basic value of Liebe / love in the German linguoculture. A free associative experiment is used as the main research method. The experiment was conducted with representatives of the German linguoculture at the age from 17 to 23 in Vechta, Potsdam, Baden-Baden and Freiburg in 2022. The stimulus word Liebe was followed by 200 reactions, which we are going to share in accordance with the research methodology for reaction-concepts, reactions-representations, emotional-evaluative reactions, formal and cultural reactions. The research is based on sequential comparison of data from lexicographic sources (including etymological sources) and data from a free associative experiment. The author verifies the obtained results using an inverse associative experiment. Research data can be used in sociological research, in teaching translation studies, intercultural communication, cultural linguistics, ethnopsycholinguistics, in a practical course of the first foreign language (German), in a workshop on the culture of verbal communication, etc. The obtained data can be used in the development of various types of educational manuals and educational reference books. The results of the study have shown that the concept Liebe / love is relevant and significant for representatives of the German linguoculture. Moreover, it is realized in a variety of reactions-representations reflecting the individual experience of respondents. The relevance of this concept is verified by the data of the inverse associative experiment. However, the meaning of the concept Liebe / love, which represents the basic value, changes: the correlation between love and the object of love becomes relevant. Liebe / love unites other value characteristics for the respondents: trust, loyalty, harmony, attention, tenderness towards another person on the basis of common value integrative characteristics. It also has a positive connotation for the respondents.

The Essence and Usage of the Terms of Stimulus Word and Response Reaction

The term stimulus is widely used as one of the basic scientific terms in the fields of psychology and linguistics. The term comes from the Latin stimulus, which literally means “pointed stick”. The term stimulus is actually a psychological term that is actively used today in anthropocentric linguistics, its psycholinguistics, associative linguistics.

Age-related differences in Russian and Hungarian linguistic pictures of the world

This cross-cultural, interdisciplinary study aims to investigate how the linguistic picture of the world differs in various age groups from kindergarten years to adulthood. In this paper, linguistic picture of the world is referred to as a technical term introduced into linguistics by Leo Weisgerber (Weltbild der Sprache). In order to trace the differences in Russian and Hungarian language users’ linguistic picture of the world in different age groups, thus obtaining a more precise picture of the linguistic development of the individual from a cross-cultural perspective, a research was conducted and data were collected with the aid of the association experiment, a foundational research method of Russian psycholinguistics. Respondents from three age groups (4–5 years, 10–12 years, and 18–26 years) were investigated via the collection of word associations to 10 stimulus words. As the research results suggest, culturally bound traits of linguistic development were identified, including the Russian linguistic consciousness changing its orientation from being self- and family-oriented in early childhood to being people-oriented (man-oriented) as an adult. The study also revealed common characteristics of the age-related development of the Russian and Hungarian linguistic pictures of the world, for instance, toys and games moving from the center of the linguistic image of the world to the periphery to be replaced by love. Results can be utilized not only for theoretical psycholinguistic purposes including a better description of the presumed age-related changes in the mental lexicon but also in the practical realm of education for curriculum development or the fine-tuning of pedagogical methods, as well as in intercultural studies for gaining a more precise picture of the linguistic consciousness of representatives of different cultures.

Improving Conceptual Understanding of Density and Buoyancy of Liquids through Common Knowledge Construction Model

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) on 10th-grade students’ conceptual understanding of the buoyancy and density of liquids topic. Within a pre-experimental (one group pre-test/post-test) research design, this study was conducted with 22 of 10th-grade students. To collect data, the Word Association Test (WAT) and Structural Grid (SG) were employed as pre- and post-test. Students’ conceptual understanding of the states of objects in different positions (swimming, sinking, and suspending) in the liquid was determined by means of the SG. Through the WAT, the cognitive structure of the students for the stimulus words of mass, volume, density, buoyancy, and Archimedes was determined. According to the post-tests for the SG questions, it was determined that there was a significant increase in the number of correct boxes selected and a significant decrease in the number of incorrect boxes selected. In addition, it was determined that the mind map obtained from the post-WAT, which revealed the cognitive structures of the students, had a much more interrelated and complex network. The findings obtained are compared with other related studies in the literature and some suggestions for teaching science subjects of CKCM are given.

Borrowed vocabulary as a fragment of the Russian language picture of the world: linguoculturological description

The relevance of the study is determined by the need for further study of the modern Russian language picture of the world, including by considering borrowed lexical units that explicate the conceptual meanings in the minds of Russian speakers precepting their own national culture. Of particular scientific interest are the results of the associative experiment, which demonstrate the specifics of Russian-speaking informants’ interpretation of subject-conceptual, connotative, primarily axiological, components of the borrowed units meaning, in our case, Sinicisms. The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the universal and nationally determined components in the semantics of the associates obtained during the experiment, which mark a fragment of the Russian picture of the world associated with understanding Chinese culture. The materials included the works of scientists on the problem of lexical borrowings, data from lexicographic sources, as well as the results of a survey and an associative experiment in a group of Russian-speaking students studying at Tomsk State Pedagogical University. A comprehensive research methodology was used, including methods of theoretical, introspective and experimental analysis. The results of the experiment made it possible to draw a conclusion about the role, place and content of fragments of the worldview of Russian-speaking informants related to the idea of the history, culture and language of China and based on the reception of different thematic borrowed lexical units. The authors proved that, despite the influence of the native linguistic culture on interpreting Sinicisms by Russian language native speakers, they understand the core subject-conceptual components of the meaning of all stimulus words. This fact testifies to the presence of a general idea on the original Chinese culture, imprinted in the national language and in the minds of the informants. We revealed that the degree of success and completeness of interpreting the borrowings depends on a certain thematic category of the unit: the most diverse and numerous reactions were received to words denoting philosophical concepts, the socio-political vocabulary has the least limited range of reactions. In general, the results of the experiment demonstrated the positive value meanings conveying respect and interest to Chinese language and culture in the minds of the representatives of modern Russian linguistic culture. The prospects of the research involve further study of Russian linguistic culture involving borrowed words from different source languages, as well as expanding the audience of recipients depending on their status indicators.

Speech Perception in Noise and Medial Olivocochlear Reflex: Effects of Age, Speech Stimulus, and Response-Related Variables.

The role of the medial olivocochlear system in speech perception in noise has been debated over the years, with studies showing mixed results. One possible reason for this could be the dependence of this relationship on the parameters used in assessing the speech perception ability (age, stimulus, and response-related variables). The current study assessed the influence of the type of speech stimuli (monosyllables, words, and sentences), the signal-to-noise ratio (+5, 0, -5, and -10dB), the metric used to quantify the speech perception ability (percent-correct, SNR-50, and slope of the psychometric function) and age (young vs old) on the relationship between medial olivocochlear reflex (quantified by contralateral inhibition of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions) and speech perception in noise. A linear mixed-effects model revealed no significant contributions of the medial olivocochlear reflex to speech perception in noise. The results suggest that there was no evidence of any modulatory influence of the indirectly measured medial olivocochlear reflex strength on speech perception in noise.

Greater target or lure variability? An exploration on the effects of stimulus types and memory paradigms

In recognition memory, the variance of the target distribution is almost universally found to be greater than that of the lure distribution. However, these estimates commonly come from long-term memory paradigms where words are used as stimuli. Two exceptions to this rule have found evidence for greater lure variability: a short-term memory task (Yotsumoto et al., Memory & Cognition,36, 282–294 2008) and in an eyewitness memory paradigm (Wixted et al., Cognitive Psychology,105, 81–114 2018). In the present work, we conducted a series of recognition memory experiments using different stimulus (faces vs. words) along with different paradigms (long-term vs. short-term paradigms) to evaluate whether either of these conditions would result in greater variability in lure items. Greater target variability was observed across stimulus types and memory paradigms. This suggests that factors other than stimuli and retention interval might be responsible for cases where variability is less for targets than lures.

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.