Results from a series of naming experiments demonstrated that major lexical categories of simple ... more Results from a series of naming experiments demonstrated that major lexical categories of simple sentences can provide sources of constraint on the interpretation of ambiguous words (homonyms). Manipulation of verb (Experiment 1) or subject noun (Experiment 2) specificity produced contexts that were empirically rated as being strongly biased or ambiguous. Priming was demonstrated for target words related to both senses of a homonym following ambiguous sentences, but only contextually appropriate target words were primed following strongly biased dominant or subordinate sentences. Experiment 3 showed an increase in the magnitude of priming when multiple constraints on activation converged. Experiments 4 and 5 eliminated combinatorial intralexical priming as an alternative explanation. Instead, it was demonstrated that each constraint was influential only insofar as it contributed to the overall semantic representation of the sentence. When the multiple sources of constraint were retained but the sentence-level representation was changed (Experiment 4) or eliminated (Experiment 5), the results of Experiments 1, 2, and 3 and were not replicated. Experiment 6 examined the issue of homonym exposure duration by using an 80-msec stimulus onset asynchrony. The results replicated the previous experiments. The overall evidence indicates that a sentence context can be made strongly and immediately constraining by the inclusion of specific fillers for salient lexical categories. The results are discussed within a constraint-based, context-sensitive model of lexical ambiguity resolution. Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., homonyms) as a function of prior information. The majority of the literature on context effects has supported either the principles of modularity, in which an autonomous lexical processor (Fodor, 1983; Forster, 1979) is uninfluenced by syntax and semantics (see, e.g.,
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A, 1999
... Strength of discourse context as a determinant of the subordinate bias effect. Quarterly Jour... more ... Strength of discourse context as a determinant of the subordinate bias effect. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 52A, 813±839. Rayner, K., Binder, KS, & Duffy, SA (this issue). ... Memory & Cognition, 26, 979±1001. Vu, H., Kellas, G., Metcalf, K., & Herman, R. (in press). ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A, 1999
Two experiments examined the influence of strength of discourse bias on lexical ambiguity resolut... more Two experiments examined the influence of strength of discourse bias on lexical ambiguity resolution. Short passages were constructed to bias polarized ambiguous words (homonyms) strongly or weakly toward the dominant or subordinate meanings. Using a self-paced reading task in Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that in strongly biased discourse, reading times for homonyms in dominant discourse did not differ from those in subordinate discourse. However, when the discourse was weakly biased, homonyms were read faster in dominant discourse than in subordinate discourse. Experiment 2 combined the reading paradigm with a naming task in order to provide an assessment of specific word-meaning activation. Reading times on ambiguous words replicated the results of Experiment 1. In addition, naming latencies for probe words revealed that only the contextually appropriate sense of a homonym was activated in strongly biased discourse. In contrast, both contextually appropriate and inappropriate senses were activated following a weakly biased subordinate discourse, whereas only the dominant sense was activated following weakly biased dominant discourse. The results demonstrate (1) an immediate influence of prior discourse information on lexical processing; and (2) that the strength of discourse constraints can play a governing role in lexical ambiguity resolution. The results were interpreted within the framework of a context-sensitive model of lexical ambiguity resolution.
The present study investigated the scope of planning in speech production by examining onset late... more The present study investigated the scope of planning in speech production by examining onset latencies for sentences describing moving picture displays. The experimental sentences began with either a simple or complex noun phrase, but were matched in length and content words. Results from young and old normal participants replicated previous findings of Smith and Wheeldon (1999) in showing longer onset latencies for sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase, supporting a phrasal scope of planning. Two aphasic patients were tested who, in previous studies, had shown a short-term memory deficit either in semantic retention (patient ML)or in phonological retention (patient EA). Patient ML showed a markedly greater disadvantage for the sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase whereas EAshowed an effect within normal range. The present results from the patients, together with those from previous studies, indicate that the phrasal planning is occurring at a lexical-semantic level using a capacity that is also involved in comprehension.
Using a self-paced reading task, KeUas, Martin, Yehling, Herman, and Vu (1995) demonstrated that ... more Using a self-paced reading task, KeUas, Martin, Yehling, Herman, and Vu (1995) demonstrated that strength of context can modulate the effects of meaning frequency. Binder and Rayner (1998) initially replicated the results, using eye-tracking methodology. Onfurther examination of the stimuli, Binder and Rayner eliminated 43% of the stimulus set and found that context strength failed to modulate meaning frequency. Binder and Rayner's initial replication ofKellas et al. and the convergence of results between their two main experiments established the validity of self-paced reading as a measure of on-line reading, when compared with eye-tracking methodology. However, their central conclusion, that context strength cannot modulate the subordinate bias effect, is open to question. In this commentary, we examine the criteria adopted to exclude items from our homonym set and discuss the issue of local versus published norms. We also discuss the issue ofcontext strength, as related to the specific rating procedures employed. Finally, we conclude that strong context can, infact, eliminate the subordinate bias effect and that the context-sensitive model can more fUlly account for the available data on lexical ambiguity resolution.
Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of a... more Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., homonyms) as a function of prior information. The majority of the literature on context effects has supported either the principles of modularity, in which an autonomous lexical processor (Fodor, 1983; Forster, 1979) is uninfluenced by syntax and semantics (see, e.g.,
Results from a series of naming experiments demonstrated that major lexical categories of simple ... more Results from a series of naming experiments demonstrated that major lexical categories of simple sentences can provide sources of constraint on the interpretation of ambiguous words (homonyms). Manipulation of verb (Experiment 1) or subject noun (Experiment 2) specificity produced contexts that were empirically rated as being strongly biased or ambiguous. Priming was demonstrated for target words related to both senses of a homonym following ambiguous sentences, but only contextually appropriate target words were primed following strongly biased dominant or subordinate sentences. Experiment 3 showed an increase in the magnitude of priming when multiple constraints on activation converged. Experiments 4 and 5 eliminated combinatorial intralexical priming as an alternative explanation. Instead, it was demonstrated that each constraint was influential only insofar as it contributed to the overall semantic representation of the sentence. When the multiple sources of constraint were retained but the sentence-level representation was changed (Experiment 4) or eliminated (Experiment 5), the results of Experiments 1, 2, and 3 and were not replicated. Experiment 6 examined the issue of homonym exposure duration by using an 80-msec stimulus onset asynchrony. The results replicated the previous experiments. The overall evidence indicates that a sentence context can be made strongly and immediately constraining by the inclusion of specific fillers for salient lexical categories. The results are discussed within a constraint-based, context-sensitive model of lexical ambiguity resolution. Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., homonyms) as a function of prior information. The majority of the literature on context effects has supported either the principles of modularity, in which an autonomous lexical processor (Fodor, 1983; Forster, 1979) is uninfluenced by syntax and semantics (see, e.g.,
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A, 1999
... Strength of discourse context as a determinant of the subordinate bias effect. Quarterly Jour... more ... Strength of discourse context as a determinant of the subordinate bias effect. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 52A, 813±839. Rayner, K., Binder, KS, & Duffy, SA (this issue). ... Memory & Cognition, 26, 979±1001. Vu, H., Kellas, G., Metcalf, K., & Herman, R. (in press). ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A, 1999
Two experiments examined the influence of strength of discourse bias on lexical ambiguity resolut... more Two experiments examined the influence of strength of discourse bias on lexical ambiguity resolution. Short passages were constructed to bias polarized ambiguous words (homonyms) strongly or weakly toward the dominant or subordinate meanings. Using a self-paced reading task in Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that in strongly biased discourse, reading times for homonyms in dominant discourse did not differ from those in subordinate discourse. However, when the discourse was weakly biased, homonyms were read faster in dominant discourse than in subordinate discourse. Experiment 2 combined the reading paradigm with a naming task in order to provide an assessment of specific word-meaning activation. Reading times on ambiguous words replicated the results of Experiment 1. In addition, naming latencies for probe words revealed that only the contextually appropriate sense of a homonym was activated in strongly biased discourse. In contrast, both contextually appropriate and inappropriate senses were activated following a weakly biased subordinate discourse, whereas only the dominant sense was activated following weakly biased dominant discourse. The results demonstrate (1) an immediate influence of prior discourse information on lexical processing; and (2) that the strength of discourse constraints can play a governing role in lexical ambiguity resolution. The results were interpreted within the framework of a context-sensitive model of lexical ambiguity resolution.
The present study investigated the scope of planning in speech production by examining onset late... more The present study investigated the scope of planning in speech production by examining onset latencies for sentences describing moving picture displays. The experimental sentences began with either a simple or complex noun phrase, but were matched in length and content words. Results from young and old normal participants replicated previous findings of Smith and Wheeldon (1999) in showing longer onset latencies for sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase, supporting a phrasal scope of planning. Two aphasic patients were tested who, in previous studies, had shown a short-term memory deficit either in semantic retention (patient ML)or in phonological retention (patient EA). Patient ML showed a markedly greater disadvantage for the sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase whereas EAshowed an effect within normal range. The present results from the patients, together with those from previous studies, indicate that the phrasal planning is occurring at a lexical-semantic level using a capacity that is also involved in comprehension.
Using a self-paced reading task, KeUas, Martin, Yehling, Herman, and Vu (1995) demonstrated that ... more Using a self-paced reading task, KeUas, Martin, Yehling, Herman, and Vu (1995) demonstrated that strength of context can modulate the effects of meaning frequency. Binder and Rayner (1998) initially replicated the results, using eye-tracking methodology. Onfurther examination of the stimuli, Binder and Rayner eliminated 43% of the stimulus set and found that context strength failed to modulate meaning frequency. Binder and Rayner's initial replication ofKellas et al. and the convergence of results between their two main experiments established the validity of self-paced reading as a measure of on-line reading, when compared with eye-tracking methodology. However, their central conclusion, that context strength cannot modulate the subordinate bias effect, is open to question. In this commentary, we examine the criteria adopted to exclude items from our homonym set and discuss the issue of local versus published norms. We also discuss the issue ofcontext strength, as related to the specific rating procedures employed. Finally, we conclude that strong context can, infact, eliminate the subordinate bias effect and that the context-sensitive model can more fUlly account for the available data on lexical ambiguity resolution.
Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of a... more Research on lexical ambiguity resolution has dealt primarily with activation of the meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., homonyms) as a function of prior information. The majority of the literature on context effects has supported either the principles of modularity, in which an autonomous lexical processor (Fodor, 1983; Forster, 1979) is uninfluenced by syntax and semantics (see, e.g.,
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