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Biomedical subjects

D Besner

Publications and source records attributed to D Besner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Basic processes in reading: semantics affects speeded naming of high-frequency words in an alphabetic script.

Previous work on single-word naming in university-level readers has shown that semantic factors affect the naming of low frequency words both in an alphabetic script like English, which is often irregular in terms of the spelling-sound correspondences, and in the syllabic Japanese Kana script, in which the spelling-sound correspondences are consistent. The present experiment shows that a semantic factor (imageability) affects naming time to both low- and high-frequency words in an alphabetic script (Persian) when the word is opaque (vowels not specified) but not when it is transparent (vowels specified). Other characteristics of opaque words that promote the use of semantics are discussed. At least in some orthographies, semantics play a larger role in single-word naming than previously thought.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Modulating semantic feedback in visual word recognition.

According to the interactive activation framework proposed by McClelland and Rumelhart (1981), activation spreads both forward and backward between some levels of representation during visual word recognition. An important boundary condition, however, is that the spread of activation from lower to higher levels can be prevented (e.g., explicit letter processing during prime processing eliminates the well-documented semantic priming effect). Can the spread of activation from higher to lower levels also be prevented? This question was addressed with a choice task procedure in which subjects read a prime word and then responded to a target, performing either lexical decision or letter search depending on the color of the target. A semantic context effect was observed in lexical decision, providing evidence of semantic-level activation. In contrast, there was no semantic context effect in the letter search task, despite evidence of lexical involvement: Words were searched faster than nonwords. Further evidence of lexical involvement in the letter search task appeared in Experiment 2 in the form of greater identity priming for words than for nonwords. The results of these experiments are consistent with the conclusion that feedback from the semantic level to the lexical level can be blocked. Hence, between-level activation blocks can be instantiated in both bottom-up and top-down directions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The myth of ballistic processing: evidence from Stroop's paradigm.

The Stroop effect is widely considered to be compelling evidence that skilled readers cannot prevent themselves from reading the irrelevant word or even delay such processing. In contrast, several reports indicate that the Stroop effect can be eliminated by various simple manipulations. These reports have been criticized on several grounds, among them that the baseline condition is suspect. These criticisms are addressed by showing that when (1) a neutral baseline is replaced by congruent trials, (2) single letter cuing and coloring manipulations are combined, (3) attentional window conditions are blocked, and (4) the congruent/incongruent trial ratio is 20/80, the Stroop effect is eliminated. A second major finding is that despite no Stroop effect, negative priming is observed, consistent with the hypothesis that a distinct but delayed perceptual act processes the word. The default set may be to process to the highest level (semantics), but these reading processes are (contextually) controlled rather than ballistic.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

On the dominance of whole-word knowledge in reading aloud.

The localist dual-route model of visual word recognition assumes a routine that addresses the pronunciation of all words known to the reader (the lexical-semantic pathway) and another routine, operating in parallel, that assembles pronunciations on the basis of sublexical spelling-sound correspondences. The present experiment exploits the exception effect (in which words that are atypical in terms of their spelling-sound correspondences are named more slowly than typical ones) because it is considered a marker of the joint operation of these two routines. Participants named high- and low-frequency regular and exception words that were repeated across two blocks of trials. The widely reported interaction between regularity and word frequency is present in Block 1 but is reduced in magnitude in Block 2. DRC, an implemented dual-route model, simulates the data. Taken in conjunction with other reports, the results provide further evidence for a double dissociation between addressed and assembled routines and are consistent with the view that skill in recognizing printed words known to the reader reflects the dominance of orthographic over phonological processing.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Semantic processing in visual word recognition: activation blocking and domain specificity.

Lexical decision to a target is typically facilitated when a related prime is simply read, but is typically eliminated if subjects carry out a letter search on the prime when probe and prime appear simultaneously. Three experiments involving the addition of a task-irrelevant word to this prime search paradigm address (1) Stolz and Besner's (1996, 1998) account in which semantic priming is eliminated because letter search on the prime instantiates an activation block between lexical and semantic levels of representation, (2) Chiappe, Smith, and Besner's (1996) account that activation blocking is domain specific, and (3) Neely and Kahan's (2001) claim that semantic activation is context independent and capacity free. The results are (1) consistent with the account that activation blocking is general to a level, rather than item specific, (2) consistent with the account that activation blocking is domain specific, and (3) inconsistent with the claim that semantic activation is context independent and capacity free.

Association↗
PubMed2001

On a variant of Stroop's paradigm: which cognitions press your buttons?

The Stroop effect typically refers to the fact that the time to identify the color of a visually presented word is affected by the relationship between the word and the color When the (irrelevant) word is semantically related to the color (e.g., the word green, presented in red) response time is slower than if the word is neutral or unrelated. One question that has been posed concerns whether semantics plays a role only when the task requires an explicit verbal response, or whether it also plays a role when the response is manual. Sharma and McKenna (1998) have reported that semantics plays a role only when the response is vocal. A reanalysis of their data shows that semantics also plays a role when manual responses are made.

Cognition↗
PubMed2000

Lexical access codes in visual word recognition: are the joint effects of context and stimulus quality diagnostic?

Is it possible to identify when lexical access in visual word recognition is based on an orthographic code and when it is based on a phonological code? Some researchers have argued that the joint effects of semantic context and stimulus quality in lexical decision are diagnostic. Their argument is that when phonological recoding is employed, it serves to keep the effects of stimulus quality and context from interacting. Semantic context and stimulus quality are therefore predicted to have additive effects on RT. In contrast, when lexical access is not mediated by a phonological recoding stage, then the effect of stimulus quality interacts with context, as commonly seen in the literature. A strong test of these claims was devised in which participants were forced to use phonological recoding for the purpose of lexical access. An interaction between context and stimulus quality was observed. This finding is taken as evidence that the joint effects of semantic context and stimulus quality are not diagnostic with respect to the nature of the lexical access code (i.e., orthographic versus phonological) for readers of English.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

On the interaction between linguistic and pictorial systems in the absence of semantic mediation: evidence from a priming paradigm.

Use of the letter search task in the context of the priming paradigm has proved to be an invaluable tool for the investigation of the strategic control of processes involved in word recognition. In particular, previous findings that letter search on a prime word interferes with the priming of semantically/associatively related targets, but not with the priming of either identical or morphologically related targets, suggests that letter search may selectively interfere with semantic processing, leaving other levels of processing intact. In the present experiments, this investigation was extended by exploring the priming of pictures following letter search of either a same-concept word (repetition priming) or a semantically/associatively related word (semantic priming). There was significant repetition priming of picture categorization following both silent reading and letter search of the prime word (Experiments 1 and 2). In contrast, semantic priming of pictures was found only following silent reading of the prime; there was no semantic priming following letter search of the prime (Experiment 2). This pattern of results suggests that focusing attention at the letter level during prime processing selectively attenuates activation of the semantic system by the prime. It does not prevent the spread of activation between the lexical and pictogen levels of representation of a given concept.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

Context dependency in Stroop's paradigm: when are words treated as nonlinguistic objects?

The "memory" literature emphasizes the notion of encoding variability, whereas the "word recognition and attention" literature typically asserts that it is impossible to prevent immediate lexical and semantic activation when single words are presented to skilled readers. In the four experiments reported here, the presence/absence of a Stroop effect was associated with the nature of the between-trial context. These data can be understood as an expression of contextually driven encoding variability, but are problematic for the decontextualized "automatic" processing account that has prevailed in the attention and performance literature for the last six decades.

Field Dependence-Independence↗
PubMed1999

What kind of attention modulates the Stroop effect?

An intersection of three literatures (skilled word recognition, spatial attention, and the Stroop effect) is addressed in a series of four experiments. The results, in conjunction with other observations, are taken to suggest that (1) the default value for spatial attention in visual word recognition is distributed across the word, (2) precuing a single letter position serves to narrow the focus of spatial attention, and (3) this reduces or prevents activation in the word recognition system. Consequently, the Stroop effect is reduced in magnitude or eliminated, depending on details of the context. Contrary to the widespread view that it reflects automatic processing, the Stroop effect is better conceptualized as reflecting the action of default settings in the word recognition and attentional systems. Some relations between consciousness, context, and control are noted.

Attention↗
PubMed1999

Unconsciously controlled processing: the Stroop effect reconsidered.

The Stroop effect is widely considered to be compelling evidence that an acquired skill such as reading is "automatic" in the sense that lexical/semantic analyses of single words cannot be prevented, even when they are irrelevant and harmful to the task at hand. This view is challenged by a series of three experiments in which the presence/absence of a Stroop effect depends on (1) whether all of the target elements are colored or not, in conjunction with (2) whether the target and the spatially distinct color word distractor belong to the same domain or not. A framework is offered in which domain-specific encoding algorithms play a major role. Skilled word recognition is typically unconscious, but is characterized better as contextually controlled, rather than "automatic."

Association↗
PubMed1998

Levels of representation in visual word recognition: a dissociation between morphological and semantic processing.

A robust semantic priming effect typically occurs in visual word recognition if the prime is read before a response to the target. However, this effect is dramatically reduced if a letter search is performed on the prime prior to responding to the target. Three lexical decision experiments document the new observation that morphological priming is preserved following letter search on the prime. This dissociation between morphological and semantic priming following letter search can be understood in the context of an interactive activation framework. In addition, the implications of these results for connectionist and compound cue accounts of word recognition, as well as the issue of automaticity in word recognition, are discussed.

Automatism↗
PubMed1998

When do nonwords activate semantics? Implications for models of visual word recognition.

Three lexical decision experiments examined the conditions in which nonwords activate semantics. Lexical decisions to targets (e.g., CAT) were faster when preceded by semantically related nonword primes (e.g., DEG derived from DOG) when the prime was brief and masked; this nonword priming effect was eliminated when the prime was presented for a longer duration. These results are discussed in the context of both parallel distributed processing models and the idea that the occurrence of nonword priming depends upon subjects being unable to verify the identity of the prime.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1994

Evidence against early selection: stimulus quality effects in previewed displays.

H. Pashler (1984) reported that when subjects identified a probed letter in a display of 8 characters, the effect of stimulus quality on reaction time persisted full blown even when subjects had 300 ms to preprocess the display. Pashler argued that these results are incompatible with theories of late selection but that they are naturally accommodated by theories of early selection. The authors report 14 experiments using Pashler's methodology in which the effects of stimulus quality were reliably attenuated with a preview of the letter array. Pashler's results were also replicated, but only under a narrow set of conditions. Several "early selection" accounts of the interaction of probe delay with stimulus quality were examined and rejected in favor of a late selection account.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Semantics at a glance: is the right hemisphere special?

It is well documented that the left hemisphere is specialized for the processing of alphabetic scripts. However, there have also been repeated suggestions that the right hemisphere is particularly proficient at reading logographs, despite scant empirical support for this proposition. In the present experiment subjects made an odd/even judgement to a single lateralized logograph (an Arabic numeral). The data suggest that the left and right hemispheres are equally efficient at extracting meaning from at least some simple, highly familiar logographs.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Visual word recognition: a multistage activation model.

Although many models of word recognition have postulated loci for the simple effects of Context, Stimulus Quality, and Word Frequency, most of them are problematic in that they do not account for the pattern of joint effects among these factors. The experiments reported here show that, among other things, Word Frequency interacts with Context but is additive with Stimulus Quality in the context of a lexical decision experiment that also produces an interaction between Stimulus Quality and Context. The pattern of joint effects among these factors is accommodated by a multistage activation model that is based on the framework proposed by Besner and Smith (1992a).

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Priming effects that span an intervening unrelated word: implications for models of memory representation and retrieval.

Several studies have reported priming effects that span an intervening unrelated word (Davelaar & Coltheart, 1975; Meyer, Schvaneveldt, & Ruddy, 1972). More recently, other investigators have suggested that such relatedness effects are the result of postaccess processes (Gough, Alford, & Holley-Wilcox, 1981; Masson, 1991; Ratcliff & McKoon, 1988). In fact, these investigators claim that when procedures are used that discourage the use of postaccess processes, relatedness effects do not span intervening unrelated words. The present experiments demonstrate reliable relatedness effects with procedures that eliminate postaccess processes. These results are consistent with the notion of spreading activation among local representations in memory. Implications for the issue of local versus distributed representations are discussed.

Adult↗