Retuning of lexical-semantic representations: Repetition and spacing effects in word-meaning priming.

ABSTRACT: Current models of word-meaning access typically assume that lexical-semantic representations of ambiguous words (e.g., 'bark of the dog/tree') reach a relatively stable state in adulthood, with only the relative frequencies of meanings and immediate sentence context determining meaning preference. However, recent experience also affects interpretation: recently encountered word-meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). Here, 3 experiments investigated how multiple encounters with word-meanings influence the subsequent interpretation of these ambiguous words. Participants heard ambiguous words contextually-disambiguated towards a particular meaning and, after a 20- to 30-min delay, interpretations of the words were tested in isolation. We replicate the finding that 1

SUBMITTER: Betts HN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6012009 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature