Effects of homograph meaning frequency on semantic satiation

Sheila R. Black, Ryan C. Leonard, Sandra Willis, Philip Burton, Steven McCown, Regan Lookadoo, Ernest Wayde

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined the effects of homograph meaning frequency on semantic satiation within an ambiguity resolution paradigm. Participants received 3 homograph conditions: the concordant (QUICK-FAST-SPEEDY), discordant (HUNGER-FAST-SPEEDY) and neutral (CEILING-FAST-SPEEDY). On each trial, a prime (e.g., QUICK) was presented for various numbers of repetitions. Afterward, the prime was removed and participants made relatedness judgments about a homograph and target. On half of the trials, the prime was related to a high-frequency meaning of the homograph, and on the other half of the trials, the prime was related to a low-frequency meaning. The concordant condition yielded evidence of semantic satiation across meaning frequency conditions (QUICK-FAST-SPEEDY), but the discordant condition only yielded evidence of semantic satiation when the prime activated a subordinate meaning of the homograph (HUNGER-FAST-SPEEDY).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)175-187
Number of pages13
JournalCanadian Journal of Experimental Psychology
Volume67
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013

Keywords

  • lexical ambiguity
  • semantic priming
  • semantic satiation

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