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Objective: Studies have demonstrated a morphological decomposition process in the initial stages of visual word recognition based on orthographically defined morphemes and independent of semantic and lexical information. The present study sought to investigate this phenomenon in adult Brazilian Portuguese-speaking readers. Method: Participants performed a lexical decision task preceded by primes at two Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA): 33 or 250 ms. The primes had one of the following relations with the target word: morphological (porteiro [DOORKEEPER]–PORTA [DOOR]), morpho-orthographic (cordeiro [LAMB]–CORDA [ROPE]), orthographic (abril [APRIL]–ABRIU [OPENED]), semantic (abelha [BEE]–MEL [HONEY]), or no relation (pessoa [PERSON]–DADO [DICE]). Results: Priming effects were observed for the morphological and semantic conditions at both SOAs but not for the orthographic and morpho-orthographic conditions. Conclusion: Our results suggest that semantic representations mediate morphological priming in Brazilian Portuguese since the early stages of visual word recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visual processing of morphologically complex words has been studied for decades now. One influential account proposes initial sublexical parsing, based on surface structure, before semantic information comes in (form-first models; Rastle & Davis, 2008, Morphological decomposition based on the analysis of orthography. Language and Cognitive Processes, 23(7-8), 942–971. https://doi.org/10.1080/01690960802069730). We tested this account in German, a morphologically rich language in a masked-priming lexical decision study with (pseudo-)derived German words. Behavioural data showed masked priming for truly morphologically complex (e.g. farmer – FARM), but not for pseudo-complex (e.g. corner – CORN) or merely form-related primes (e.g. cartel – CAR). MEG data revealed an early sensitivity to form (140–330 ms), followed by a differentiation between derived and other primes (260–480 ms), challenging the notion of early blind decomposition. The results align with the AUSTRAL model (Taft, 2023, Localist lexical representation of polymorphemic words. In D. Crepaldi (Ed.), Linguistic morphology in the mind and brain (1st ed., pp. 152–166). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003159759-11) and suggest that German speakers have heightened sensitivity to morpho-semantic information, unlike English speakers, which likely due to differences in morphological complexity between languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emojis are frequently used in digital communication to supplement the lack of non-verbal cues, but their integration during reading has not been thoroughly examined. This study explores the interplay between language and emotion by testing the influence of emotional valence and face-status of emojis on visual word recognition. Two online experiments were conducted with 92 native English-speaking university students, examining priming effects between congruent (e.g. delicious) and incongruent (e.g. hate) prime-target pairs, varying the face-status of the emoji prime (face vs. non-face) and the valence (positive vs. negative) of the word target. Irrespective of valence, face emojis demonstrated a processing advantage over non-face emojis, implying automatic attention capture. Additionally, the results revealed an interaction between prime-target congruency and valence, with a facilitatory effect for positive, but not negative, items, suggesting a valence-specific mechanism of affective priming in the lexical decision task. The research suggests that the rapid integration of emoji content occurs during the early stages of visual word recognition, with heightened attentional sensitivity to both face-like and positive stimuli when reading digital communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While abstractionist theories of visual word recognition propose that perceptual elements like font and letter case are filtered out during lexical access, instance-based theories allow for the possibility that these surface details influence this process. To disentangle these accounts, we focused on brand names embedded in logotypes. The consistent visual presentation of brand names may render them much more susceptible to perceptual factors than common words. In the present study, we compared original and modified brand logos, varying in font or letter case. In Experiment 1, participants decided whether the stimuli corresponded to existing brand names or not, regardless of graphical information. In Experiment 2, participants had to categorize existing brand names semantically – whether they corresponded to a brand in the transportation sector or not. Both experiments showed longer response times for the modified brand names, regardless of font or letter-case changes. These findings challenge the notion that only abstract units drive visual word recognition. Instead, they favor those models that assume that, under some circumstances, the traces in lexical memory may contain surface perceptual information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of affective and semantic dimensions of words is essential for studying word processing. In this study, we expanded Tse et al.'s (Behav Res Methods 49:1503–1519, 2017; Behav Res Methods 55:4382–4402, 2023) Chinese Lexicon Project by norming five word dimensions (valence, arousal, familiarity, concreteness, and imageability) for over 25,000 two-character Chinese words presented in traditional script. Through regression models that controlled for other variables, we examined the relationships among these dimensions. We included ambiguity, quantified by the standard deviation of the ratings of a given lexical variable across different raters, as separate variables (e.g., valence ambiguity) to explore their connections with other variables. The intensity–ambiguity relationships (i.e., between normed variables and their ambiguities, like valence with valence ambiguity) were also examined. In these analyses with a large pool of words and controlling for other lexical variables, we replicated the asymmetric U-shaped valence–arousal relationship, which was moderated by valence and arousal ambiguities. We also observed a curvilinear relationship between valence and familiarity and between valence and concreteness. Replicating Brainerd et al.'s (J Exp Psychol Gen 150:1476–1499, 2021; J Mem Lang 121:104286, 2021) quadratic intensity–ambiguity relationships, we found that the ambiguity of valence, arousal, concreteness, and imageability decreases as the value of these variables is extremely low or extremely high, although this was not generalized to familiarity. While concreteness and imageability were strongly correlated, they displayed different relationships with arousal, valence, familiarity, and valence ambiguity, suggesting their distinct conceptual nature. These findings further our understanding of the affective and semantic dimensions of two-character Chinese words. The normed values of all these variables can be accessed via https://osf.io/hwkv7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the impact of neighborhood size (number of other two-character words sharing the same character at the same position) on Chinese lexical processing, along with its joint effects with variables such as character frequency, word frequency, and semantic transparency. Previous factorial experiments have yielded conflicting results that are difficult to reconcile with existing models (Li et al., 2015, 2017). To provide high-powered tests for these theoretically important effects on visual word recognition, we leveraged the megastudy approach and used linear mixed-effect analyses to investigate lexical decision and naming responses to a large pool of two-character Chinese words (N > 17,000) sourced from Tse et al.'s (2017, 2023) database. In all analyses we controlled for extraneous orthographic (e.g., stroke count), phonological (e.g., consistency), and semantic (e.g., transparency) variables. In addition to evaluating Li et al.'s (2015, 2017) models, we also investigated whether the parallel dual-route mechanism, which entails lexical access via whole-word or character decomposition-then-composition, could account for neighborhood size effect and its interactions in lexical decision and naming. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings on the specificity of lexical effects with regard to character position and lexical processing task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In isolated English word reading, readers have the optimal performance when their initial eye fixation is directed to the area between the beginning and word center, that is, the optimal viewing position (OVP). Thus, how well readers voluntarily direct eye gaze to this OVP during isolated word reading may be associated with reading performance. Using Eye Movement analysis with Hidden Markov Models, we discovered two representative eye movement patterns during lexical decisions through clustering, which focused at the OVP and the word center, respectively. Higher eye movement similarity to the OVP‐focusing pattern predicted faster lexical decision time in addition to cognitive abilities and lexical knowledge. However, the OVP‐focusing pattern was associated with longer isolated single letter naming time, suggesting conflicting visual abilities required for identifying isolated letters and multi‐letter words. In contrast, in both word and pseudoword naming, although clustering did not reveal an OVP‐focused pattern, higher consistency of the first fixation as measured in entropy predicted faster naming time in addition to cognitive abilities and lexical knowledge. Thus, developing a consistent eye movement pattern focusing on the OVP is essential for word orthographic processing and reading fluency. This finding has important implications for interventions for reading difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The problem of concept formation in the visual modality remains largely unexplored. There are many studies on the formation of verbal concepts in the learning process. However, it has not yet been fully investigated how concept formation occurs in conditions when both the signified and the signifier (sign) are represented only in the visual modality and what brain mechanisms are involved in this process. Objectives. The aim of the present work was to identify the brain mechanisms of visual concepts formation, on the basis of EEG registration with subsequent localization of the sources of electrical activity. Another task is to evaluate the possibility of actualizing the process of indirect learning in the formation of visual concepts. Study Participants. 26 Russian-speaking subjects without neurological disorders: 10 males and 16 females (aged 18 to 40 years, mean age 22.92 years, SD = 6.38) participated in the study. Methods. Chinese hieroglyphs, unfamiliar to the subjects, were taken as signs. The designated ones were emoticons (schematic faces expressing various emotions). A total of 10 pairs of stimuli sign-designated were presented. A 19-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in three successive series: 1) the initial perception of hieroglyphic signs without assigning them a category; 2) categorization of these signs in the process of associative learning, with only 8 designating stimuli-signs directly associated with the designated stimulus, while 2 stimuli-signs were never associated with the stimulus-designator, their meaning was established indirectly; 3) subsequent perception of signs with the meaning already assigned to them. All stimuli were presented to the subjects visually. A new method of localization of brain activity, “Virtually implanted electrode”, developed by A.V. Vartanov (patent RU No. 2 785 268) was applied. Results. The analysis of the subjects' responses showed that during the learning process all signs (including those formed indirectly) were assigned a certain meaning (designated). Differences in event-related potentials (ERP) were found in leads C3 and CZ. Significant differences in ERP as a result of learning were revealed in a number of brain structures. It was found that a number of functional connections between the left area of the secondary visual cortex and the right part of the cerebellum changed significantly as a result of learning. Conclusions. The development of visual categories is ensured by the coordinated work of the right part of the cerebellum, parahippocampal gyrus and primary visual cortex, which is confirmed by the discovered differences in the corresponding ERPs.

Previous behavioral studies have shown that inter-letter spacing affects visual word recognition and reading. While condensed spacing may hinder the early stages of letter encoding because of increased crowding effects, the impact of expanded inter-letter spacing is still unclear. To examine the electrophysiological signature of inter-letter spacing on visual word recognition, we presented words in three different inter-letter spacing conditions (default, condensed [−1.5 points] or expanded [+1.5 points]) in an event-related potentials go/no-go semantic categorization task. Our focus was on the N170, an event-related potentials component associated with the early encoding of orthographic information, which also is sensitive to crowding effects. Results revealed that the N170 amplitude reached the largest values for the condensed condition than for the default and expanded spacing conditions, which did not differ. While increased crowding impacted the early encoding of orthographic information, extra letter spacing (compared with default spacing) did not. This outcome is consistent with the Modified Receptive Field hypothesis, in which letter receptors adapt their size to cope with letter crowding. These findings reveal that reducing the space between letters more than the default spacing impairs the ability to process written words, whereas slightly expanding the space between letters does not provide any additional benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract All leading models of visual word recognition assume a hierarchical process that progressively converts the visual input into abstract letter and word representations. However, the results from recent behavioral studies suggest that the mental representations of words with a highly consistent visual format, such as logotypes, may comprise not only purely abstract information but also perceptual information. This hypothesis would explain why participants often misperceive transposed-letter misspellings with the original base words to a larger degree in logotypes (e.g., SASMUNG, but not SARVUNG, is perceived as SAMSUNG) than in common words. The present experiment examined the electrophysiological signature behind the identification of correctly spelled and misspelled logotypes (via letter transposition or replacement) in an ERP go/no-go semantic categorization experiment. Results showed that N400 amplitudes for transposed-letter misspelled logotypes (SASMUNG) and intact logotypes (SAMSUNG) did not differ significantly across various time windows (until 600 ms), whereas replacement-letter misspelled logotypes (SARVUNG) yielded consistently larger N400 amplitudes. These findings reveal that the mental representations of logotypes are particularly resistant to minor orthographic changes, which has important theoretical and applied (e.g., marketing) implications.

All leading models of visual word recognition assume a hierarchical process that progressively converts the visual input into abstract letter and word representations. However, the results from recent behavioral studies suggest that the mental representations of words with a highly consistent visual format, such as logotypes, may comprise not only purely abstract information but also perceptual information. This hypothesis would explain why participants often misperceive transposed-letter misspellings with the original base words to a larger degree in logotypes (e.g., SASMUNG, but not SARVUNG, is perceived as SAMSUNG) than in common words. The present experiment examined the electrophysiological signature behind the identification of correctly spelled and misspelled logotypes (via letter transposition or replacement) in an ERP go/no-go semantic categorization experiment. Results showed that N400 amplitudes for transposed-letter misspelled logotypes (SASMUNG) and intact logotypes (SAMSUNG) did not differ significantly across various time windows (until 600 ms), whereas replacement-letter misspelled logotypes (SARVUNG) yielded consistently larger N400 amplitudes. These findings reveal that the mental representations of logotypes are particularly resistant to minor orthographic changes, which has important theoretical and applied (e.g., marketing) implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to elucidate the neural mechanisms underpinning the visual recognition of morphologically complex verbs in Korean, a morphologically rich, agglutinative language with inherent polymorphemic characteristics. In an fMRI experiment with a lexical decision paradigm, we investigated whether verb inflection types (base, regular, and irregular) are processed through separate mechanisms or a single system. Furthermore, we explored the semantic influence in processing inflectional morphology by manipulating the semantic ambiguity (homonymous vs. unambiguous) of inflected verbs. The results showed equivalent activation levels in the left inferior frontal gyrus for both regular and irregular verbs, challenging the dichotomy between the two. Graded effects of verb regularity were observed in the occipitotemporal regions, with regular inflections eliciting increased activation in the fusiform and lingual gyri. In the middle occipital gyrus, homonyms showed decreased activation relative to that of unambiguous words, specifically for base and irregular forms. Furthermore, the angular gyrus exhibited significant modulation with all verb types, indicating a semantic influence during morphological processing. These findings support single-system theories and the connectionist framework, challenging the assumptions of purely orthographic morphological decomposition and dual-mechanism accounts. Furthermore, they provide evidence for a semantic influence during morphological processing, with differential reliance on semantic activation for regular and irregular inflections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether, during visual word recognition, semantic processing is modulated by attentional control mechanisms directed at matching semantic information with task-relevant goals. In previous research, we analyzed the semantic Stroop interference as a function of response latency (delta-plot analyses) and found that this phenomenon mainly occurs in the slowest responses. Here, we investigated whether this pattern is due to reduced ability to proactively maintain the task goal in these slowest trials. In two pairs of experiments, participants completed two semantic Stroop tasks: a classic semantic Stroop task (Experiment 1A and 2A) and a semantic Stroop task combined with an n-back task (Experiment 1B and 2B). The two pairs of experiments only differed in the trial pace, which was slightly faster in Experiments 2A and 2B than in Experiments 1A and 1B. By taxing the executive control system, the n-back task was expected to hinder proactive control. Delta-plot analyses of the semantic Stroop task replicated the enhanced effect in the slowest responses, but only under sufficient time pressure. Combining the semantic Stroop task with the n-back task produced a change in the distributional profile of semantic Stroop interference, which we ascribe to a general difficulty in the use of proactive control. Our findings suggest that semantic Stroop interference is, to some extent, dependent on the available executive resources, while also being sensitive to subtle variations in task conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participants judged whether a letter-string created a word when a single letter was added to the end indicated by a hyphen. Unique final fragments were easier to reconstruct when corresponding to the body of a word, having no onset (e.g. laugh from –augh) than when the second consonant of a two-letter onset was also included (e.g. blind from –lind). Conversely, unique initial fragments were easier to reconstruct when including the first consonant of a two-letter coda (e.g. drink from drin–) than when corresponding to an “antibody”, having no coda (e.g. claim from clai–). Such results cannot be explained by any account of orthographic processing based purely on the identity and position of the component letters while ignoring their function as an onset, coda, or vowel. Instead, the results are compatible with a model such as the proposed Subsyllabic Processing (SSP) account where subsyllabic structures are hierarchically represented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The encoding of letter position appears to be relatively flexible. Transposed-letter pseudowords (e.g. CHOLOCATE) are more often misidentified as their base words (CHOCOLATE) compared to replacement-letter pseudowords (CHOTONATE) – transposed-letter effect. One plausible explanation for this effect is that it arises from visuospatial position uncertainty in letter position encoding. To test this account, we conducted two lexical decision experiments. Pseudowords were presented syllable-by-syllable in vertical and zigzag formats, making the position of the critical transposed or replaced letters more noticeable. In Experiment 1, we found a transposed-letter effect in both formats, which was sizeable in the error rates. Experiment 2 introduced a delayed 900-ms response cue to assess whether the transposed-letter effect fully vanishes in the absence of immediate time pressure. Results again showed a transposed-letter effect. Thus, while visuospatial uncertainty contributes to letter position flexibility during word recognition, an additional non-visual component is necessary to fully explain this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Priming effects for morphological roots support theories that grant them a unique representational status in visual word recognition. However, effects for other morphemes, including inflectional affixes, have been inconsistent. In a large-N experiment, we test the reliability of inflectional affix priming and add a meta-analysis to quantify priming effect size for roots and affixes. Study 1 probes priming for the English past tense suffix –ed at short (34 ms) and long (150 ms) stimulus-onset asynchrony; pure morphological priming is not obtained that is statistically distinguishable from form-based priming effects. A Bayesian meta-analysis (Study 2) demonstrates priming for roots and prefixes, but not suffixes, that are statistically larger than form-based priming effects. Taken together the absence of suffix priming contrasts with robust root and prefix effects, which may reflect the left-to-right nature of visual word recognition in the languages studied in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Homonyms are words with multiple, unrelated meanings that share a single form and pronunciation. These words provide valuable insights into how semantic representation is retrieved and selected independently of orthography and phonology. This study aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of lexical and semantic processing in the visual recognition of Korean words. Specifically, we examine how homonyms and unambiguous words are processed differently during a lexical decision task (LDT) with EEG recording, considering the effects of word frequency and the number of meanings (NOMs). Methods: Participants performed a lexical decision task where they were required to determine if a visually presented stimulus was a valid Korean word. We compared the behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by homonyms and unambiguous words, each possessing either high or low word frequency. Both subjective and objective NOMs were measured and manipulated, while controlling for the subjective balance of individual frequencies of meanings to control for confounding from the relatedness of meaning (ROM). For ERP analysis, a non-parametric cluster-based permutation test was employed in addition to the two time windows of interest (i.e., N400 and P600). Results: Behavioral results indicated a marginally significant interaction between word frequency and semantic ambiguity along with a main effect of word frequency, showing faster and more accurate responses for high-frequency words. An ambiguity advantage was observed only for low-frequency words, with no significant effect found for high-frequency words. ERP results revealed that lexical-semantic interactions were reflected in the modulations of the N400 and P600 components. High-frequency homonyms elicited an enhanced N400 amplitude, while low-frequency homonyms showed a reduced P600 amplitude. Discussion: The findings suggest that the activation of semantic information occurs simultaneously with lexical processing, rather than during post-lexical or decision-making processes. Furthermore, considering balanced homonyms were employed in this study, inhibitory competition may arise from the highfrequency individual meanings of high-frequency words. In contrast, in lowfrequency words, a facilitative effect may arise from gains in global semantic activation or semantic feedback to the orthographic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Words with larger morphological families elicit shorter response times in visual lexical decision, but in auditory lexical decision, family size effects have been reported to be facilitative, absent, or inhibitory. We revisit the auditory family size effect and different family size definitions by re-analysing data from two large lexical decision experiments. The results suggest that words with larger families elicit smaller response latencies not only in visual but also in auditory lexical decision. However, in auditory lexical decision, this effect is insignificant when the word contains a prefix. In both modalities, it is the degree of semantic similarity and the degree of form overlap between a word and its family members, rather than the mere presence of overlap, that seem to drive the family size effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital communication has generated forms of written speech that may deviate from standard ones, such as Greeklish (a Latin-alphabet-based script) vs. Greek. The question of interest is how different orthographic representations of the same referent (e.g. petaloyda, “butterfly”, in Greeklish vs. πϵταλούδα “butterfly” in Greek) may influence word processing, particularly visual word recognition and access to affective connotations. 120 Greek native speakers were tested on a lexical decision task, in which script (Greeklish vs. Greek) and valence (positive vs. negative vs. neutral) were manipulated within participants. Words were matched for word class, frequency, concreteness, length, number of syllables and orthographic neighbourhood. Emotional words differed from neutral ones in valence and arousal. Results yielded faster response times for words written in the standard script (Greek) than the non-standard script (Greeklish). Moreover, regardless of script, response times were negatively correlated with the words’ valence, with slowest responses for negative words and fastest for positive ones, suggesting that positive content accelerates lexical access, whereas negative content slows it down. To sum up, although script type was found to affect word recognition, activation of and access to emotional content seemed to resist non-standard characteristics of visual word processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explored cross-language morphological transfer mechanisms using a similar-script morphological translation priming paradigm in highly proficient unbalanced Turkish (first language; L1)–English (second language; L2) bilinguals. Using noncognate English and Turkish stimuli that shared a similar meaning with no form overlap (e.g., ice [Eng.] – buz [Tur.]), in Experiment 1, L2 English stem targets (e.g., ICE) were primed by affixed L1 nonwords (e.g., buzca [iceish]), nonaffixed L1 nonwords (e.g., buznak [iceald]), and unrelated L1 nonwords (e.g., tuşku [keyment]). The results revealed priming effects in both the affixed and nonaffixed nonword conditions relative to the unrelated control, and significantly larger priming in the affixed than the nonaffixed condition. In addition, enhanced cross-language morphological transfer effects were evidenced in bilinguals with an earlier age of L2 acquisition. In Experiment 2, English stem targets (e.g., ICE) were primed by nonaffixed L1 nonwords including translated stems (e.g., buznak [iceald]), semantically related stems (e.g., suzur [waterew]), and unrelated L1 nonwords (e.g., tuşzur [keyew]). The results showed significantly larger priming effects in the translated condition compared with the semantic and unrelated control conditions, with no priming in the semantic condition relative to the unrelated condition, suggesting that cross-language morphological priming effects were specifically due to the lexico-semantic relationship between the embedded word and its translation equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, research on bilingual visual word recognition has given rise to a new line of study focusing on a sublexical orthographic variable referred to as orthographic markedness, derived from the comparison of the two orthotactic distributions known by a bilingual reader. Orthographic markers have been shown to speed up language decisions but also, to some extent, to modulate language nonselectivity during lexical access (i.e., the degree of co-activation of lexical representations of the two languages). In this review, we (1) describe the results available in the literature about orthographic markedness on language membership detection and lexical access and discuss the locus of these effects, which leads us to (2) present theoretical extensions to the bilingual interactive activation models and discuss their respective adequacy to the data, finally leading us to (3) propose future research directions in the study of orthographic markedness, such as extension to different reading tasks and contexts as well as considering developmental and learning dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading morphologically complex words requires analysis of their morphemic subunits (e.g., play + er); however, the positional constraints of morphemic processing are still little understood. The current study involved three unprimed lexical decision experiments to directly compare the positional encoding of stems and affixes during reading and to investigate the role of semantics during the position encoding of morphemes. Experiment 1 revealed that transposed compound wordswere harder to reject than their controls (e.g., dreamday vs. shadeday), whereas there was no difference between transposed suffixed words and their controls (e.g., fulpain vs. adepain). Experiment 2 replicated the results for transposed compound words of the first experiment and further showed that there was no difference between transposed prefixed words and their controls (e.g., qualifydis vs. qualifymis). Experiment 3 investigated the role of semantic transparency in morpheme transposition effects and revealed a larger morpheme transposition effect for semantically transparent transposed compound words (e.g., cuptea vs. taptea) than for semantically opaque transposed compound words (e.g., linedead vs. deskdead). These results bring to light important differences in the positional encoding of stems and affixes, suggesting that prefixes and suffixes are recognized in a position-dependent manner compared to the position-independent encoding of embedded stems and that morpheme transposition effects are guided by semantics. The current findings call for more clearly specified theoretical models of visual word recognition that reflect the distinct positional constraints of stems and affixes, as well as the influence of semantics on morphological processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present SUBTLEX-CY, a new word frequency database created from a 32-million-word corpus of Welsh television subtitles. An experiment comprising a lexical decision task examined SUBTLEX-CY frequency estimates against words with inconsistent frequencies in a much smaller Welsh corpus that is often used by researchers, the Cronfa Electroneg o'r Gymraeg (CEG), and three other Welsh word frequency databases. Words were selected that were classified as low frequency (LF) in SUBTLEX-CY and high frequency (HF) in CEG and compared with words that were classified as medium frequency (MF) in both SUBTLEX-CY and CEG. Reaction time analyses showed that HF words in CEG were responded to more slowly compared to MF words, suggesting that SUBTLEX-CY corpus provides a more reliable estimate of Welsh word frequencies. The new Welsh word frequency database that also includes part-of-speech, contextual diversity, and other lexical information is freely available for research purposes on the Open Science Framework repository at https://osf.io/9gkqm/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination of reversible mirrored letters (e.g., d and b) poses a challenge when learning to read as it requires overcoming mirror invariance, an evolutionary‐old perceptual tendency of processing mirror images as equivalent. The present study investigated when, in reading development, mirror‐image discrimination becomes automatic during visual word recognition. The developmental trajectory of masked priming effects was investigated from 2nd to 6th grade and in adults, by manipulating letter type (nonreversible; reversible) and prime condition (control; identity; mirrored; rotated). Standardized identity priming increased along reading development. Beginning readers showed mirror invariance during reversible and nonreversible letter processing. A mirror cost (slower word recognition in mirrored‐letter than identity prime condition) was found by 5th‐grade but only for reversible letters. By 6th grade, orthographic processing was no longer captive of mirror invariance. A multiple linear regression showed that letter representations, but not phonological processes or age, were a reliable predictor of the rise of mirror‐image discrimination in 2nd–4th‐graders. The present results suggest a protracted development of automatic mirror‐image discrimination during orthographic processing, contingent upon the quality of abstract letter representations. Research Highlights: We traced the developmental trajectory of mirrored‐letter and rotated‐letter priming effects (e.g., ibea and ipea as primes of IDEA) in visual word recognition.Beginning readers (2nd–4th‐graders) showed mirror invariance and plane‐rotation sensitivity in orthographic processing, thus still being susceptible to the perceptual biases in charge in object recognition.A mirror cost was found in 5th‐graders but only for reversible letters; orthographic processing was no longer captive of mirror invariance by 6th‐grade.The automation of mirror‐image discrimination during orthographic processing depends on the quality of letter representations but not on phonological processes or age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that phonology influences the visual perception of a word's letters. However, the influence of prosody, including word stress, on grapheme perception in polysyllabic words is poorly investigated. The present study addresses this issue with a letter search task. Participants searched for vowel letters (Experiment 1) and consonant letters (Experiment 2) in stressed and unstressed syllables of bisyllabic words. Results reveal facilitated vowel letter detection in stressed syllables compared with unstressed syllables, indicating that prosodic information affects visual letter perception. Moreover, an analysis of the response time distribution revealed that the effect was present even for the fastest decisions but increased for slower response times. However, no systematic stress effect emerged for consonants. We discuss possible sources and dynamics of the observed pattern and the importance to accommodate feedback processes of prosody on letter perception in models of polysyllabic word reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading‐while‐listening (RWL) has been suggested to facilitate reading comprehension by establishing letter‐to‐sound correspondences in the word recognition process. However, previous findings are inconsistent regarding the effect of RWL on foreign language (L2) reading comprehension. To understand why such inconsistency occurs, the moderating role of L2 orthographic characteristics in the effects of RWL on L2 propositional comprehension was examined. The orthographic characteristics of a language are of particular relevance as languages differ in the time course and the degree to which visual and phonological coding strategies are involved in word recognition. L1 Korean (alphabetic, shallow orthography) intermediate undergraduate learners of Chinese (nonalphabetic), English (alphabetic, deep orthography), and Spanish (alphabetic, shallow orthography) read and read‐while‐listened to authentic reading texts in their target language, and solved a set of written, untimed multiple‐choice questions to test their propositional comprehension. Results indicated that learners of an L2 with a larger distance (i.e., Chinese) from the L1 benefitted more from RWL, indicating that L2 orthographic characteristics interacted with input modality. Pedagogical implications for the use of RWL are discussed coupled with qualitative findings of students' perceptions. The Challenge: The instructional practice of reading‐while‐listening (RWL) has been encouraged with a belief in its efficacy to promote L2 reading comprehension but previous research rendered mixed findings. How should then RWL be used? To understand why such inconsistency occurs and guide ways to use RWL in a more nuanced way, the present study deconstructs the nature of RWL by means of examining the moderating role of the cross‐linguistic orthographic distance between learners' L1 and L2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When reading, the visual system is confronted with many words simultaneously. How much of that information can a reader process at once? Previous studies demonstrated that low-level visual features of multiple words are processed in parallel, but lexical attributes are processed serially, for one word at a time. This implies that an internal bottleneck lies somewhere between early visual and lexical analysis. We used a dual-task behavioral paradigm to investigate whether this bottleneck lies at the stage of letter recognition or phonological decoding. On each trial, two letter strings were flashed briefly, one above and one below fixation, and then masked. In the letter identification experiment, participants indicated whether a vowel was present in a particular letter string. In the phonological decoding experiment, participants indicated whether the letter string was pronounceable. We compared accuracy in a focused attention condition, in which participants judged only one of the two strings, with accuracy in a divided attention condition, in which participants judged both strings independently. In both experiments, the cost of dividing attention was so large that it supported a serial model: participants were able to process only one letter string per trial. Furthermore, we found a stimulus processing trade-off that is characteristic of serial processing: When participants judged one string correctly, they were less likely to judge the other string correctly. Therefore, the bottleneck that constrains word recognition under these conditions arises at a sub-lexical level, perhaps due to a limit on the efficiency of letter recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study scrutinized the effects of words' superiority, regularity, frequency and length on the intermediate and advanced EFL learner's visual word recognition. Moreover, it attempted to check whether each of these parameters could be statistically a significant predictor on recognition tasks. Accordingly, 118 intermediate and 127 advanced adult EFL learners were selected randomly from English Language Institutes based on their performance on the McMillan Placement Test (MPT). The needed data was collected through a developed Visual Word Recognition Test (WORT) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). The findings indicated that all the mentioned factors significantly affected both the intermediate and the advanced EFL learners' overall word recognition by varying degrees (words' frequency, length, superiority and regularity, respectively), however, the advanced learners' recognition was generally faster on both recognition tests. Moreover, words' regularity was found to play a more effective role for the intermediates than the advanced learners on recognition tasks. Furthermore, words' frequency, regularity and length were found to be proper predictors on comprehension tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a megastudy approach, (Tse et al., 2017 Behavior Research Methods, 49, 1503–1519) established a large-scale repository of lexical variables and lexical decision responses for more than 25,000 traditional Chinese two-character words. In the current study, we expand their database by collecting norms for speeded naming reaction times (RTs) and accuracy rates, and compiling more lexical variables (e.g., phonological consistency and semantic neighborhood size). Following Tse et al.'s procedure, about 33 college-aged native Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong read aloud each word. We conducted item-level regression analyses to test the relative predictive power of orthographic variables (e.g., stroke count), phonological variables (e.g., phonological consistency), and semantic variables (e.g., semantic transparency) in naming performance. We also compared the effects of lexical variables on naming performance and Tse et al.'s lexical decision performance to examine the extent to which effects are task-specific or task-general. Freely accessible to the research community, this resource provides a valuable addition to other influential mega-databases, such as the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2004 Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 283–316), and furthers our understanding of Chinese word recognition processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to elucidate the neural mechanisms underpinning the visual recognition of morphologically complex verbs in Korean, a morphologically rich, agglutinative language with inherent polymorphemic characteristics. In an fMRI experiment with a lexical decision paradigm, we investigated whether verb inflection types (base, regular, and irregular) are processed through separate mechanisms or a single system. Furthermore, we explored the semantic influence in processing inflectional morphology by manipulating the semantic ambiguity (homonymous vs. unambiguous) of inflected verbs. The results showed equivalent activation levels in the left inferior frontal gyrus for both regular and irregular verbs, challenging the dichotomy between the two. Graded effects of verb regularity were observed in the occipitotemporal regions, with regular inflections eliciting increased activation in the fusiform and lingual gyri. In the middle occipital gyrus, homonyms showed decreased activation relative to that of unambiguous words, specifically for base and irregular forms. Furthermore, the angular gyrus exhibited significant modulation with all verb types, indicating a semantic influence during morphological processing. These findings support single-system theories and the connectionist framework, challenging the assumptions of purely orthographic morphological decomposition and dual-mechanism accounts. Furthermore, they provide evidence for a semantic influence during morphological processing, with differential reliance on semantic activation for regular and irregular inflections.

Background: Previous research has shown that the emotional content of words affects how quickly they are recognised. One recent measure of word emotionality is emotional experience that measures the degree to which reading a word can invoke emotional experiences tied to the word. Words that are higher in emotional experience are recognised more rapidly in the lexical decision task. Methods: The current study examines how words' emotional experience and participants' emotionality affect performance on the lexical decision task. To this end, participants were given five emotion measures and completed a lexical decision task with words varying on emotional experience. Results: It was found that participants who scored higher on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule showed a weaker emotional experience effect. No other emotion measures interacted with emotional experience. Conclusions: These results are predicted by and interpreted within a framework where the semantic representation of words includes emotion information that is grounded in experience of our internal states. Highlights: What is already known about this topicThe emotional content of words influences how rapidly they are recognised.One way that emotion is measured in words is with emotional experience. Words higher in emotional experience are associated with more emotions than are those lower in emotional experience. Research has shown that emotional experience facilitates visual word recognition.The emotionality of the reader also influences word recognition. What this paper addsThis study seeks to answer the question of whether word and participant emotion interact during visual word recognition.The results indicate that participants that experience emotions more show a smaller word emotional experience effect. Implications for theory, policy or practiceThis work indicates that individual differences play a key role in the word recognition process.These findings provide support for theories where the semantic representation is based, at least in part, on emotional information that is grounded in our experience of internal states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated morphological decomposition of Tagalog infixed, prefixed, and suffixed words using the masked priming paradigm. We directly compared morphological priming of infixed, ni- prefixed and -in suffixed words to examine whether infixes are processed similarly to other affixes during early and automatic decomposition. We found significant priming effects for infixed, prefixed, and suffixed words, but no semantic or orthographic similarity priming. Magnitudes of priming effects for infixed and prefixed words were not significantly different, suggesting that decomposition of infixed words was not more costly for Tagalog speakers, contrary to phonological readjustment-based accounts of infixation. This is the first psycholinguistic experiment showing that infixed words are decomposed into morphological units during visual word recognition. We provide evidence that the imperfect edge-alignment of the stem within infixed words does not hamper the early morphological decomposition mechanisms, suggesting that edge-alignment might not be critical to trigger activation of morphological units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared patterns of nonselective cross-language activation in L1 and L2 visual word recognition with different-script bilinguals. The aim was to determine (1) whether lexical processing is nonselective in the L1 (as in L2), and (2) if the same cross-linguistic factors affected processing similarly in each language. To examine the time course of activation, eye movements were tracked during lexical decision. Thirty-two Japanese–English bilinguals responded to 250 target words in Japanese and in English. The same participants and items (i.e., cognate translation equivalents) were used to directly compare L1 and L2 processing. Response latencies as well as eye movements representing early and late processing were analyzed using mixed-effects regression modeling. Similar cross-linguistic effects, namely cognate word frequency, phonological similarity, and semantic similarity, were found in both languages. These factors affected processing to different degrees in each language, however. While cognate frequency was significant as early as the first fixation, effects of cross-linguistic phonological and semantic similarity arose later in time. Increased phonological similarity slowed responses in L2 but speeded them in L1, while greater semantic overlap was facilitatory in both languages. Results are discussed from the perspective of the BIA+ model of visual word recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted two masked priming experiments to examine how the orthographic system processes words with mirrored letters. In both experiments, four different primes were used: an identity prime, an unrelated control prime, and two mirror-primes in which letters were either mirrored at their vertical or horizontal axis. Task was varied between experiments: In Experiment 1, we used a lexical decision task, and in Experiment 2, we used a cross-case same–different match task. We expected to see priming effects in both mirror-conditions with stronger effects in the vertically than in the horizontally mirrored letters. In the lexical decision task, we observed only vertical priming effects for words, whereas in the same–different task, priming effects were present in both mirror-conditions and for both words and non-words. We discuss the implications of our findings for extant models of orthographic processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Languages with non-concatenative morphology are often claimed to include consonantal root morphemes in their lexicon. Previous psycholinguistic studies strengthened the Root Hypothesis, showing that words in Arabic, Hebrew, and Maltese prime targets with the same stem consonants, with semantic relation playing a limited role. We provide a re-analysis of previous psycholinguistic studies and claim that a model of word recognition with an inherent consonant bias can explain these findings equally well, making the notion of the consonantal root as a morphological unit superfluous for word recognition models, and thus undermining the psycholinguistic argument for the consonantal root. We further draw attention to parallel effects of form similarity in word recognition in languages with concatenative morphology (e.g. Dutch, English, French). Our account therefore puts speakers and readers of Semitic languages on a par with their Indo-European peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have suggested that visually presented words are obligatorily decomposed into constituents that could be mapped to language representations. The present study aims to elucidate how orthographic processing of one constituent affects the other and vice versa during a word recognition task. Chinese orthographic system has characters representing syllables and meanings instead of suffixation roles, and the majority of Chinese characters are phonograms that can be further decomposed into phonetic radical and semantic radical. We propose that semantic radical combinability indexed by semantic radicals and the effect of phonological consistency indexed by phonetic radicals would interact with each other during the reading of Chinese phonograms. Twenty-six right-handed native Chinese speakers were recruited to the study. Participants were presented with phonograms divided into four conditions following their semantic radical combinability (large vs. small) and phonological consistency (high vs. low). EEG signals were recorded throughout the covert naming task. Our results show that there is an interaction effect between phonological consistency and semantic radical combinability on the right hemisphere N170 activity while reading phonograms. Semantic radical combinability influenced the right hemisphere N170 during the process of low-consistency character reading but not high-consistency character reading. On the other hand, the left hemisphere N170 revealed a more significant activity during reading high-consistency characters and was not affected by radical combinability. In addition, while low-consistency characters revealed a larger P200 than high-consistency characters, the semantic radical combinability effect on P200 was only significant when participants were reading high-consistency characters but not low-consistency characters. These results provide new information about how ERPs are involved in word recognition within the context of interaction among orthographic and phonological dimensions.

A very common feature in most writing systems is the presence of diacritics: distinguishing marks that are added for various linguistic reasons. Most models of reading, however, have not yet captured the nature of these marks. Recent priming experiments in several languages have attempted to resolve how diacritical letters are represented in the visual word recognition system. Since the function and appearance of diacritics can change from one language to the other, it is hard to interpret the accumulated evidence. With this in mind, we conducted two masked priming lexical decision experiments in Hungarian, a transparent orthography with a wide use of diacritic vowels that allows for clear-cut manipulations. In the two experiments, we manipulated the presence or absence of the same diacritic (i.e., the acute accent) on two specific sets of letters that behave differently. In Experiment 1, the manipulation changed only the length of vowels, whereas in Experiment 2, it also changed the quality (e.g., a↝/ɒ/ vs. á↝/aː/). In both experiments, we found that primes with an omitted diacritic work just as good as the identity primes (nema→NÉMA = néma→NÉMA [mute]), whereas the addition of a diacritic comes with a cost (mése→MESE > mese→MESE [tale]). This asymmetry favors a purely perceptual account of the very early stages of word recognition, making it blind to the function of diacritics. We suggest that the linguistic functions of diacritics originate at later processing stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a longstanding debate about whether lexical and semantic processing of words is serial or parallel. We addressed this debate using partially valid cueing, where one of two words is cued. The cue was valid on 80% and invalid on the other 20% of the trials. The task was semantic categorization, and performance was measured by accuracy. The new feature was to limit attentional switching using a postmask of consonants that closely followed the presentation of words. We found a large effect of cueing and, most importantly, performance for the uncued word was at chance. This chance performance was consistent with serial processing, but not with typical parallel processing. This result adds to the evidence from other recent studies that the lexical and semantic processing of words is serial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this investigation was to explore the strategic asymmetry exhibited by the two hemispheres during semantic processing, specifically focusing on the visual recognition of homonyms. By utilizing balanced and unbalanced homonyms, we sought to ascertain whether foveal processing adheres to a specific hemisphere's strategy. In Experiment 1, we employed a visual half-field presentation paradigm to elucidate the unihemispheric strategy employed for homonym recognition. Notably, our results revealed a significant type effect, whereby responses were more accurate for unbalanced homonyms compared to balanced homonyms, particularly in the LVF/RH. This outcome suggests that the RH exhibits a stronger activation of the dominant meaning, primarily driven by frequency, while the LH concurrently activates all candidate meanings of homonyms with comparable intensity. Building upon these insights, Experiment 2 involved the presentation of both homonym types within the foveal vision, leading to the identification of a significant type effect and providing evidence for the robust utilization of the RH strategy during foveal homonym recognition. Collectively, these findings delineate an asymmetric strategy employed during semantic processing across the hemispheres, with the RH assuming a dominant role in the semantic processing of foveal words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated morphological processing in developing readers and which factors can modulate this process. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the search was carried out in the Web of Science, Scielo and PsycInfo databases, with no time limits. A total of 192 studies were identified. After the eligibility criteria were applied, 34 articles were included in the final sample, including 28 articles from the references of the sample studies. There is evidence that morphological processing occurs, in different languages, around eight years old, with discrepancies depending on individual, linguistic and psycholinguistic variables. Our findings suggest that, initially, morphological decomposition may be restricted to those complex words where there is orthographic and phonological overlap with another monomorphemic word, with activation of the latter driving the decomposition process. The study contributes to a better understanding of how morphological processing occurs during visual word recognition in children, identifying and discussing variables that can modulate this process. We hope that the results of this study can guide future research on the development of reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the influence of task demand on the uni-/bi-hemispheric processing of lexical decision-making. Two types of nonwords were used in parafoveal and foveal lexical decision tasks (LDTs) to manipulate task demand. In Experiment 1, a visual half-field paradigm was utilized to evaluate the unihemispheric strategy in lexical decision, which revealed a significant response bias toward "word" at the RVF/LH in the pseudoword LDT in contrast with the nonword LDT, indicating the strategic use of orthographical legality in LH for word-pseudoword lexical decision. In Experiment 2, the study evaluated whether foveal lexical decision follows the orthographical legality strategy of LH in pseudoword LDT relative to the nonword LDT. The results showed a response bias toward "word" in the foveal pseudoword LDT in contrast with the foveal nonword LDT, suggesting the recruitment of LH in foveal pseudoword LDT. These findings support the left-dominant bihemispheric processing in foveal lexical decision and contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying lexical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have brought conflicting results regarding the effects of valence and arousal in visual word processing. Some authors have pointed to participants' individual differences as one of the possible explanations for these inconsistencies. The main aim of the present research was to examine whether participants' individual differences in the level of epistemically unwarranted beliefs (EUB) contribute to these conflicting results. Therefore, participants who varied in their level of paranormal, pseudoscientific and conspiracy beliefs (assessed by self-report measures) performed a lexical decision task (LDT) and a recognition memory task. Linear mixed-effects models over LDT response times revealed that the effects of words' emotional content (both valence and arousal) were modulated by the degree of individuals' EUB. In addition, signal detection theory analyses showed that in the recognition task (but not in the LDT) response bias became more liberal as individuals' EUB increased. These patterns of effects were not general to all EUB instances. The obtained results highlight the need to consider participants' individual differences in affective word processing and signal detection. In addition, this study reveals some basic psychological mechanisms that would underlie EUB, a fact that has both theoretical and applied relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents simulations of eye movements during read-ing, lexical decision, and naming using Über-Reader, a newcomputational model that aims to provide a complete accountof the perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes involved inreading. The present simulations focused on Über-Reader’sword-identification module—an implementation of the Multi-ple-Trace Memory model (Ans et al., 1998) based on the theo-retical assumptions of the MINERVA 2 model of episodicmemory (Hintzman, 1984)—with a vocabulary comprising thefull corpus of the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2007).The model’s lexicon was probed with words and one-letter-dif-ferent non-words from the Schilling et al. (1998) corpus, andoutputs of the model were scored to evaluate performanceagainst the empirical data. The outcomes of these simulationswill inform further development of Über-Reader by providingthe foundation for our ultimate goal of simulating reading, inits entirety.

We investigated the early moments of visual word recognition,when the retinal information—by hypothesis split verticallyalong the fovea—is divided into two visual pathways,projecting the right visual field into the left hemisphere (LH),and the left visual field into the right hemisphere (RH).Wearing red/blue anaglyph glasses, participants performed alexical decision task to compounds (FOOTBALL) andmonomorphemic words that were either pseudo-compounds(CARPET) or unsegmentable (JINGLE). The stimuli werepresented (masked, 60 ms exposure) in three colorcombinations: all black, red/blue (ipsilateral visual pathways),and blue/red (contralateral pathways). For the red/blue andblue/red conditions, the colors were split either at themorpheme boundary (legal split) or at a character to the left orto the right of the split (illegal split). We found an advantage(RT and accuracy) of compounds over non-compounds,independent of pathway, and an advantage of legal vs. illegalconstituent split. Results suggest that the visual wordrecognition system performs parsing analyses that are inconsonant with the morphological objects of the language. Theadvantage of pseudo-compounds over unsegmentablessuggests that at an early—pre-lexical—stage the system ispartially insensitive to the semantic properties of the wholeword.

The present study, in which the phonological awareness of bilinguals and the temporal characteristics of written word recognition are studied with mixed language lexical decision tests, is a part of a larger-scale research. The study aims to collect information about the temporal characteristics of word recognition at the orthographic, phonological, and semantic levels of processing. The current research explores the ERP-patterns during the recognition of Hungarian (L1) and English (L2) words, pseudo-words, and non-words. Twenty-three Hungarian–English bilingual participants were tested in an EEG laboratory. All of them have C1 level English proficiency and use English at work and in their everyday lives on a daily basis. In the lexical decision task, the N170 (left temporal electrodes) and N400 (central electrodes) components were more pronounced in word trials than in non-word trials. This activity probably reflects the integrational and meaning-matching processes during word recognition. In the language decision task on pseudo-words, the Hungarian-like strings elicited a late (300-600) negative component at the left frontal electrode sites, missing from the ERP of the English-like strings. Note that the task is different in the two experiments, which probably influences the stimulus processing and the elicited ERP waveforms as well. In the language decision task, phonological awareness has a crucial role, attributing to the observed differences.