Semantic facilitation in blocked picture categorization: Some data and considerations regarding task selection.

Semantic context effects in picture naming and categorization tasks are central to the development and evaluation of current models of word production. When pictures are named in a semantically blocked context, response latencies are delayed. Belke (2013) found that when the naming task was replaced with a semantic categorization task (natural vs. man-made), response latencies were facilitated. From this pattern, she concluded that semantic interference in blocked picture naming has its locus at the lexical level but its origin at the preceding semantic level. However, other studies using the blocking procedure have failed to find facilitation in semantic categorization tasks (Damian et al., 2001; Riley et al., 2015), calling this conclusion into question. In three blocked picture naming and categorization experiments, we investigated different variables that might account for the discrepant results in semantic categorization. We used different semantic categorization tasks, different response modalities, different response set sizes, and different blocking procedures. Semantic facilitation was reliably found in naturalness categorization, but there was no semantic effect in natural size categorization. We discuss the implications of these findings for appropriate task selection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptive lexical processing of semantic competitors extends to alternative names: Evidence from blocked-cyclic picture naming.

Naming a picture (e.g., "duck") in the context of semantically related pictures (e.g., "eagle," "stork," "parrot") takes longer than naming it in the context of unrelated pictures (e.g., "knave," "toast," "atlas"). Adaptive models of word production attribute this semantic interference effect in blocked-cyclic naming (BCN) to an adaptive mechanism that makes competitor words, (e.g., the semantically related word "eagle" for the target word "duck") which are activated but not selected for production, less accessible for future retrieval. Results from a recent picture-word-interference study, however, suggested that alternative names (e.g., "bird" for "duck") might be exempt from this mechanism, challenging adaptive lexical processing as a general mechanism. We tested whether converging evidence is obtained in BCN. In Experiment 1, we embedded pictures responded to with alternative (category) names (e.g., "bird") into contexts composed of pictures responded to with specific (exemplar) names (e.g., "duck," "eagle," "stork," and "parrot"). If alternative names are exempt from adaptive lexical processing, interference in the homogeneous context should be found for specific name items but not for alternative name items. In contrast to this prediction, there was similar-sized interference for both types of items. In Experiment 2, we replaced the alternative name items with unrelated items. For these items, interference was largely diminished, ruling out that the effect found in Experiment 1 is a general set effect. Overall, our data suggest that alternative names are not special with respect to adaptive lexical processing.

Repeated naming affects the accessibility of nonselected words: Evidence from picture-word interference experiments.

This study traced different types of distractor effects in the picture-word interference (PWI) task across repeated naming. Starting point was a PWI study by Kurtz et al. (2018). It reported that naming a picture (e.g., of a duck) was slowed down by a distractor word phonologically related to an alternative picture name from a different taxonomic level ("birch" related to "bird") when compared to an unrelated control, indicating that the alternative name was (phonologically) coactivated. Importantly, the effect was stable across repeated naming. The authors argued that this stability challenges adaptive models of word production according to which coactivated but nonselected words become less accessible for future retrieval; such a change in lexical accessibility should have been reflected in reduced interference. Using a similar experimental protocol as Kurtz et al., our study looked at the stability of different distractor effects in PWI. Interference from a distractor word phonologically related to an alternative name was stable across repeated naming, replicating Kurtz et al. In contrast, interference from a distractor word denoting a semantic category coordinate ("stork") was reduced across repeated naming. A similar pattern was found for a distractor word corresponding to an alternative name ("bird"). Facilitation from a distractor word phonologically related to the target name ("dust"), in contrast, was stable across repeated naming. We discuss the implications of these findings with respect to the issue of changes in the accessibility of lexical representations, the use of the PWI task in this context, and the use of this task in general. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptive processing in word production: Evidence from picture-word interference studies.

Adaptive models of word production hold that lexical processing is shaped by recent production episodes. In particular, the models proposed by Howard et al. (2006) and Oppenheim et al. (2010) assume that the connection strength between semantic and lexical representations is updated continuously, on each use of a word. These changes make semantically related competitor words to a selected target word (e.g., "cherry" or "grape" for the target word "apple") less accessible for future retrieval. We put this assumption to a novel test in two picture-word interference experiments. The experiments looked at semantic interference (longer picture naming latencies in the presence of a semantically related distractor word compared to an unrelated distractor word; the effect is assumed to reflect the activation of competitor words to a target word) and its development across repeated naming. Across two times of measurement, semantically related distractor words (and their unrelated controls) were either identical (fixed target-distractor mapping, e.g., either distractor "cherry" or distractor "grape" for the target word "apple" at both times of measurement) or different (variable target-distractor mapping, e.g., distractor "cherry" at first time of measurement and distractor "grape" at second time of measurement or vice versa). Semantic interference was reduced at the second time of measurement, and this reduction was found with both fixed and variable target-distractor mapping. This generalization to new target-distractor combinations provides strong novel support for the notion of production-dependent changes in lexical accessibility as captured by adaptive models of word production. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Hearing "Birch" Hampers Saying "Duck"-An Event-Related Potential Study on Phonological Interference in Immediate and Delayed Word Production.

When speakers name a picture (e.g., "duck"), a distractor word phonologically related to an alternative name (e.g., "birch" related to "bird") slows down naming responses compared with an unrelated distractor word. This interference effect obtained with the picture-word interference task is assumed to reflect the phonological coactivation of close semantic competitors and is critical for evaluating contemporary models of word production. In this study, we determined the ERP signature of this effect in immediate and delayed versions of the picture-word interference task. ERPs revealed a differential processing of related and unrelated distractors: an early (305-436 msec) and a late (537-713 msec) negativity for related as compared with unrelated distractors. In the behavioral data, the interference effect was only found in immediate naming, whereas its ERP signature was also present in delayed naming. The time window of the earlier ERP effect suggests that the behavioral interference effect indeed emerges at a phonological processing level, whereas the functional significance of the later ERP effect is as yet not clear. The finding of a robust ERP correlate of phonological coactivation might facilitate future research on lexical processing in word production.

BONEs not CATs attract DOGs: Semantic context effects for picture naming in the lesioned language network.

The breakdown of rapid and accurate retrieval of words is a hallmark of aphasic speech and a prime target of therapeutic intervention. Complementary, psycho- and neurolinguistic research have developed a spectrum of models, how and by which neuronal network uncompromised speakers can rely on remarkable lexical retrieval capacities. Motivated by both lines of research we invited 32 participants with a chronic left hemispheric brain lesion to name pictures in the presence of distractor words. This picture-word-interference (PWI) paradigm is widely used in psycho- and neurolinguistic research. We find that also after brain lesion categorically related words (CAT â†’ [dog]picture) impede naming, while associatively related words (BONE â†’ [dog]picture) ease access, when compared to unrelated distractor words. The effects largely affecting latencies in neurotypical populations, are reproduced for error rate in our participants with lesions in the language network. Unsurprisingly, overall naming abilities varied greatly across patients. Notably, however, the two effects (categorical interference / associative facilitation) differ between participants. Correlating performance with lesion patterns we find support for the notion of a divergence of brain areas affording different aspects of the task: (i) lesions in the left middle temporal gyurs (MTG) deteriorate overall naming, confirming previous work; more notably, (ii) lesions comprising the inferior frontal hub (inferior frontal gyrus, IFG) of the language-network increase the interference effect for the categorical condition; on the contrary, (iii) lesions to the mid-to-posterior temporal hub (posterior middle and superior temporal gyri, pMTG/ pSTG) increase the facilitatory effect for the associative condition on error rates. The findings can be accommodated in a neuro-linguistic framework, which localizes lexical activation but also lexical interference in posterior parts of the language network (pMTG/pITG); conversely, selection between co-activated categorically related entries is afforded by frontal language areas (IFG). While purely experimental in nature our study highlights that lesion site differentially influences specific aspects of word retrieval. Since confrontational naming is a cornerstone of aphasia rehabilitation, this may be of note when designing and evaluating novel therapeutic regimes.

On the lexical representation of compound nouns: Evidence from a picture-naming task with compound targets and gender-marked determiner primes in aphasia.

Our study examines the lexical representation and processing of compounds in participants with aphasia (PWA) and language-unimpaired control speakers. Participants were engaged in primed picture-naming in German, a language that marks for grammatical gender. Gender-marked determiners served as primes (dermasc, diefem, dasneut [the]) and noun-noun compounds as targets (e.g., Goldneutfischmasc [goldfish]). Experiment 1 tested whether the compound's constituents are activated at a lexical-syntactic level during production. Primes were gender-congruent either with the morphological head of the target compound (e.g., dermasc for the target Goldneutfischmasc), or its modifier (dasneut for Goldneutfischmasc), or incongruent with both (diefem). Head congruency of prime and target produced strong facilitatory effects across groups. Modifier congruent primes produced contrasting effects. Modifier congruency speeded up picture naming in the controls and PWA with isolated deficits of lexical access (PWA-lex) but they delayed picture naming in PWA with additional deficits of phonological encoding (PWA-pho). Both patterns suggest that the lemmas of both constituents of compound targets and their grammatical gender are activated during compound retrieval, in line with a multiple-lemma representation of compounds. Experiment 2 explored the nature of the observed effects compared to a gender-neutral control condition. While facilitatory effects were shown by PWA-lex and the controls, PWA-pho did not profit from congruent primes but showed inhibitory effects by incongruent primes, exclusively. Inhibitory effects were also attested for the controls but not for PWA-lex. The functional origin of determiner priming effects and their theoretical and clinical implications are discussed in the framework of current accounts.

Naming pictures and sounds: Stimulus type affects semantic context effects.

Semantic context effects obtained in naming tasks have been most influential in devising and evaluating models of word production. We reinvestigated this effect in the frequently used blocked-cyclic naming task in which stimuli are presented repeatedly either sorted by semantic category (homogeneous context) or intermixed (heterogeneous context). Previous blocked-cyclic naming studies have shown slower picture naming responses in the homogeneous context. Our study compared this context effect in two task versions, picture naming and sound naming. Target words were identical across task versions (e.g., participants responded with the word dog to either the picture of that animal or to the sound [barking] produced by it). We found semantic interference in the homogeneous context also with sounds and the effect was substantially larger than with pictures (Experiments 1 and 2). This difference is unlikely to result from extended perceptual processing of sounds as compared with pictures (Experiments 3 and 4) or from stronger links between pictures and object names than between sounds and object names (Experiment 5). Overall, our results show that semantic context effects in blocked-cyclic naming generalize to stimulus types other than pictures and-in part-also reflect prelexical processes that depend on the nature of the stimuli used for eliciting the naming responses. This highlights the need to consider the impact of initial processing steps in naming studies when devising and evaluating theories of word production. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Semantic interference is not modality specific: Evidence from sound naming with distractor pictures.

In three experiments, participants named environmental sounds (e.g., the bleating of a sheep by producing the word "sheep") in the presence of distractor pictures. In Experiment 1, we observed faster responses in sound naming with congruent pictures (e.g., sheep; congruency facilitation) and slower responses with semantically related pictures (e.g., donkey; semantic interference), each compared with unrelated pictures (e.g., violin). In Experiments 2 and 3, we replicated these effects and used a psychological refractory period approach (combining an arrow decision or letter rotation task as Task 1 with sound naming as Task 2) to investigate the locus of the effects. Congruency facilitation was underadditive with dual-task interference suggesting that it arises, in part, during pre-central processing stages in sound naming (i.e., sound identification). In contrast, semantic interference was additive with dual-task interference suggesting that it arises during central (or post-central) processing stages in sound naming (i.e., response selection or later processes). These results demonstrate the feasibility of sound naming tasks for chronometric investigations of word production. Furthermore, they highlight that semantic interference is not restricted to the use of target pictures and distractor words but can be observed with quite different target-distractor configurations. The experiments support the view that congruency facilitation and semantic interference reflect some general cognitive mechanism involved in word production. These results are discussed in the context of the debate about semantic-lexical selection mechanisms in word production.

Semantic interference in the picture-word interference task: Is there a pre-lexical, conceptual contribution to the effect?

Picture naming takes longer in the presence of a semantic-categorically related distractor word compared to an unrelated distractor word. This semantic interference effect in the picture-word interference (PWI) task is an empirical cornerstone in speech production research and of central importance in theory development and evaluation. Prominent models locate the effect at an abstract lexical level, yet only few studies have tested for a possible pre-lexical, conceptual contribution. Moreover, those studies that did are not conclusive. We re-explored the locus of semantic interference by contrasting two task versions that were implemented in as parallel a fashion as possible, but differed with respect to the processing stages involved: naming pictures (requiring conceptual processing and lexical processing) and deciding on their natural size (requiring conceptual processing only). We predicted semantic interference in naming, replicating the standard effect. If part of the effect is localized at the conceptual level, we predicted interference in size decision, too. We found semantic effects in both tasks but with different polarity - interference in naming and facilitation in size decision. This pattern supports the view that semantic interference in PWI has its locus at the lexical level and its origin at the conceptual level.

Incremental learning in word production: Tracing the fate of non-selected alternative picture names.

Picture naming studies have shown that alternative picture names become phonologically coactivated even when they are eventually not produced (e.g., dog when poodle is produced and vice versa). The authors investigated whether this pattern is shaped by recent experience. Specifically, they tested whether the phonological coactivation of an alternative name is attenuated, when speakers consistently only use one particular name in a large number of naming episodes. In 3 picture-word interference experiments, the authors measured the phonological coactivation of basic-level alternative names during subordinate-level naming (Experiments 1 and 3) and of subordinate-level alternative names during basic-level naming (Experiment 2). They measured the coactivation of the alternative name at different points in time with distractor words that were phonologically related or unrelated to that name. If the pattern of lexical activation is shaped by previous naming episodes and the phonological coactivation of the nonproduced alternative name decreases, interference from related distractors should be reduced in the course of the experiment. Contrary to this prediction, the interference effect from distractors phonologically related to the alternative name remained stable. This was also true when participants were not familiarized with the pictures, more naming episodes were implemented, and a consolidation phase was introduced (Experiment 3). Overall, these results indicate some limitation of incremental learning in word production. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

When does reading dirty words impede picture processing? Taboo interference with verbal and manual responses.

Picture naming takes longer in the presence of socially inappropriate (taboo) distractor words compared with neutral distractor words. Previous studies have attributed this taboo interference effect to increased attentional capture by taboo words or verbal self-monitoring-that is, control processes scrutinizing verbal responses before articulation. In this study, we investigated the cause and locus of the taboo interference effect by contrasting three tasks that used the same target pictures, but systematically differed with respect to the processing stages involved: picture naming (requiring conceptual processing, lexical processing, and articulation), phoneme decision (requiring conceptual and lexical processing), and natural size decision (requiring conceptual processing only). We observed taboo interference in picture naming and phoneme decision. In size decision, taboo interference was not reliably observed under the same task conditions in which the effect arose in picture naming and phoneme decision, but it emerged when the difficulty of the size decision task was increased by visually degrading the target pictures. Overall, these results suggest that taboo interference cannot be exclusively attributed to verbal self-monitoring operating over articulatory responses. Instead, taboo interference appears to arise already prior to articulatory preparation, during lexical processing and-at least with sufficiently high task difficulty-during prelexical processing stages.

Grammatical-gender effects in noun-noun compound production: Evidence from German.

We examined how noun-noun compounds and their syntactic properties are lexically stored and processed in speech production. Using gender-marked determiner primes ( dermasc, diefem, dasneut [the]) in a picture naming task, we tested for specific effects from determiners congruent with either the modifier or the head of the compound target (e.g., Teemasckannefem [teapot]) to examine whether the constituents are processed independently at the syntactic level. Experiment 1 assessed effects of auditory gender-marked determiner primes in bare noun picture naming, and Experiment 2 assessed effects of visual gender-marked determiner primes in determiner-noun picture naming. Three prime conditions were implemented: (a) head-congruent determiner (e.g., diefem), (b) modifier-congruent determiner (e.g., dermasc), and (c) incongruent determiner (e.g., dasneuter). We observed a facilitation effect of head congruency but no effect of modifier congruency. In Experiment 3, participants produced novel noun-noun compounds in response to two pictures, demanding independent processing of head and modifier at the syntactic level. Now, head and modifier congruency effects were obtained, demonstrating the general sensitivity of our task. Our data support the notion of a single-lemma representation of lexically stored compound nouns in the German production lexicon.

Localizing semantic interference from distractor sounds in picture naming: A dual-task study.

In this study we explored the locus of semantic interference in a novel picture-sound interference task in which participants name pictures while ignoring environmental distractor sounds. In a previous study using this task (Mädebach, Wöhner, Kieseler, & Jescheniak, in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43, 1629-1646, 2017), we showed that semantically related distractor sounds (e.g., BARKINGdog) interfere with a picture-naming response (e.g., "horse") more strongly than unrelated distractor sounds do (e.g., DRUMMINGdrum). In the experiment reported here, we employed the psychological refractory period (PRP) approach to explore the locus of this effect. We combined a geometric form classification task (square vs. circle; Task 1) with the picture-sound interference task (Task 2). The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the tasks was systematically varied (0 vs. 500 ms). There were three central findings. First, the semantic interference effect from distractor sounds was replicated. Second, picture naming (in Task 2) was slower with the short than with the long task SOA. Third, both effects were additive-that is, the semantic interference effects were of similar magnitude at both task SOAs. This suggests that the interference arises during response selection or later stages, not during early perceptual processing. This finding corroborates the theory that semantic interference from distractor sounds reflects a competitive selection mechanism in word production.

The shape of things to come in speech production: Visual form interference during lexical access.

Naming a picture is slower in categorically related compared with unrelated contexts, an effect termed semantic interference. This effect has informed the development of all contemporary models of lexical access in speech production. However, category members typically share visual features, so semantic interference might in part reflect this confound. Surprisingly, little work has addressed this issue, and the relative absence of evidence for visual form interference has been proposed to be problematic for production models implementing competitive lexical selection mechanisms. In a series of five experiments using two different naming paradigms, we demonstrate a reliable visual form interference effect in the absence of a category relation and show the effect is more likely to originate during lexical or later response selection than during perceptual/conceptual processing. We conclude visual form interference in naming is a significant complicating factor for studies of semantic interference effects and discuss the implications for current accounts of lexical access in spoken word production.

Neighing, barking, and drumming horses-object related sounds help and hinder picture naming.

The study presented here investigated how environmental sounds influence picture naming. In a series of four experiments participants named pictures (e.g., the picture of a horse) while hearing task-irrelevant sounds (e.g., neighing, barking, or drumming). Experiments 1 and 2 established two findings, facilitation from congruent sounds (e.g., picture: horse, sound: neighing) and interference from semantically related sounds (e.g., sound: barking), both relative to unrelated sounds (e.g., sound: drumming). Experiment 3 replicated the effects in a situation in which participants were not familiarized with the sounds prior to the experiment. Experiment 4 replicated the congruency facilitation effect, but showed that semantic interference was not obtained with distractor sounds which were not associated with target pictures (i.e., were not part of the response set). The general pattern of facilitation from congruent sound distractors and interference from semantically related sound distractors resembles the pattern commonly observed with distractor words. This parallelism suggests that the underlying processes are not specific to either distractor words or distractor sounds but instead reflect general aspects of semantic-lexical selection in language production. The results indicate that language production theories need to include a competitive selection mechanism at either the lexical processing stage, or the prelexical processing stage, or both. (PsycINFO Database Record

Words we do not say-Context effects on the phonological activation of lexical alternatives in speech production.

There is compelling evidence that context strongly influences our choice of words (e.g., whether we refer to a particular animal with the basic-level name "bird" or the subordinate-level name "duck"). However, little is known about whether the context already affects the degree to which the alternative words are activated. In this study, we explored the effect of a preceding linguistic context on the phonological activation of alternative picture names. In Experiments 1 to 3, the context was established by a request produced by an imaginary interlocutor. These requests either constrained the naming response to the subordinate level on pragmatic grounds (e.g., "name the bird!") or not (e.g., "name the object!"). In Experiment 4, the context was established by the speaker's own previous naming response. Participants named the pictures with their subordinate-level names and the phonological activation of the basic-level names was assessed with distractor words phonologically related versus unrelated to that name (e.g., "birch" vs. "lamp"). In all experiments, we consistently found that distractor words phonologically related to the basic-level name interfered with the naming response more strongly than unrelated distractor words. Moreover, this effect was of comparable size for nonconstraining and constraining contexts indicating that the alternative name was phonologically activated and competed for selection, even when it was not an appropriate lexical option. Our results suggest that the speech production system is limited in its ability of flexibly adjusting and fine-tuning the lexical activation patterns of words (among which to choose from) as a function of pragmatic constraints. (PsycINFO Database Record

Planning sentences while doing other things at the same time: effects of concurrent verbal and visuospatial working memory load.

This study investigated to what extent advance planning during sentence production is affected by a concurrent cognitive load. In two picture-word interference experiments in which participants produced subject-verb-object sentences while ignoring auditory distractor words, we assessed advance planning at a phonological (lexeme) and at an abstract-lexical (lemma) level under visuospatial or verbal working memory (WM) load. At the phonological level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated before speech onset with concurrent visuospatial WM load, but only subject nouns were found to be activated with concurrent verbal WM load, indicating a reduced planning scope as a function of type of WM load (Experiment 1). By contrast, at the abstract-lexical level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated regardless of type of concurrent load (Experiment 2). In both experiments, sentence planning had a more detrimental effect on concurrent verbal WM task performance than on concurrent visuospatial WM task performance. Overall, our results suggest that advance planning at the phonological level is more affected by a concurrently performed verbal WM task than advance planning at the abstract-lexical level. Also, they indicate an overlap of resources allocated to phonological planning in speech production and verbal WM.

When Sufficiently Processed, Semantically Related Distractor Pictures Hamper Picture Naming.

Prominent speech production models view lexical access as a competitive process. According to these models, a semantically related distractor picture should interfere with target picture naming more strongly than an unrelated one. However, several studies failed to obtain such an effect. Here, we demonstrate that semantic interference is obtained, when the distractor picture is sufficiently processed. Participants named one of two pictures presented in close temporal succession, with color cueing the target. Experiment 1 induced the prediction that the target appears first. When this prediction was violated (distractor first), semantic interference was observed. Experiment 2 ruled out that the time available for distractor processing was the driving force. These results show that semantically related distractor pictures interfere with the naming response when they are sufficiently processed. The data thus provide further support for models viewing lexical access as a competitive process.

On the costs of parallel processing in dual-task performance: The case of lexical processing in word production.

Previous dual-task picture-naming studies suggest that lexical processes require capacity-limited processes and prevent other tasks to be carried out in parallel. However, studies involving the processing of multiple pictures suggest that parallel lexical processing is possible. The present study investigated the specific costs that may arise when such parallel processing occurs. We used a novel dual-task paradigm by presenting 2 visual objects associated with different tasks and manipulating between-task similarity. With high similarity, a picture-naming task (T1) was combined with a phoneme-decision task (T2), so that lexical processes were shared across tasks. With low similarity, picture-naming was combined with a size-decision T2 (nonshared lexical processes). In Experiment 1, we found that a manipulation of lexical processes (lexical frequency of T1 object name) showed an additive propagation with low between-task similarity and an overadditive propagation with high between-task similarity. Experiment 2 replicated this differential forward propagation of the lexical effect and showed that it disappeared with longer stimulus onset asynchronies. Moreover, both experiments showed backward crosstalk, indexed as worse T1 performance with high between-task similarity compared with low similarity. Together, these findings suggest that conditions of high between-task similarity can lead to parallel lexical processing in both tasks, which, however, does not result in benefits but rather in extra performance costs. These costs can be attributed to crosstalk based on the dual-task binding problem arising from parallel processing. Hence, the present study reveals that capacity-limited lexical processing can run in parallel across dual tasks but only at the expense of extraordinary high costs.