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This work presents the results of a masked lexical decision experiment in which we explore the morphological parsing of Spanish suffixed or pseudosuffixed words through the suffix priming effect. Priming the bases or pseudobases with their suffixed or pseudosuffixed forms is the standard process in experiments aimed at understanding the processes underlying morphological parsing in visual word recognition with masked priming lexical decision (e.g., darkness-DARK; corner-CORN). We, however, compare the effect of suffix priming on the lexical decision of suffixed (ero-JORNALERO) and pseudosuffixed words (ero-CORDERO), as well as the effect of orthographic priming on nonsuffixed words (eba-PRUEBA). The results show that in the case of suffixed and pseudosuffixed words, related primes (ero-JORNALERO; ero-CORDERO) significantly accelerated response latencies in comparison to unrelated primes (ista-JORNALERO; ura-CORDERO), while for simple words there was no facilitation from the orthographically related prime in comparison to the unrelated prime (eba-PRUEBA; afo-PRUEBA). These results are consistent with the so-called morpho-orthographic segmentation process in the course of visual word recognition, which might also be independent of orthographic and purely semantic factors. Our results also support the view that morphological parsing takes place regardless of whether a stem is present in a word. These results complement findings from studies dealing with CORNER- and BROTHEL-like stimuli.

Several databases of written language exist in Spanish that manage important information on the lexical and sublexical characteristics of words. However, there is no database with information on the productivity and frequency of use of derivational suffixes: sublexical units with an essential role in the formation of orthographic representations and lexical access. This work examines these two measures, known as type and token frequencies, for a series of 50 derivational suffixes and their corresponding orthographic endings. Derivational suffixes are differentiated from orthographic endings by eliminating pseudoaffixed words from the list of orthographic endings (cerveza [beer] is a simple word despite its ending in -eza). We provide separate data for child and adult populations, using two databases commonly accessed by psycholinguists conducting research in Spanish. We describe the filtering process used to obtain descriptive data that will provide information for future research on token and type frequencies of morphemes. This database is an important development for researchers focusing on the role of morphology in lexical acquisition and access.

This study presents the results of three experiments in which the Family Size (FS) effect is explored. The first experiment is carried out with no prime on simple words. The second and third experiments are carried out with morphological priming on complex words. In the first experiment a facilitatory effect of FS is observed: high FS targets produced faster responses than low FS targets. However, an inhibitory effect of Stem-FS is observed in the second experiment: low Stem-FS targets produced faster responses than high Stem-FS targets. In the third experiment a facilitatory effect is observed when the Affix-FS is manipulated: high Affix-FS targets produced faster responses than low Affix-FS targets. Overall data confirms that the effect of FS plays an important role in lexical access in Spanish. The results also show that the effect of FS is modulated by the lexical nature of the prime (lexical or sublexical) and by the number of candidates activated. Finally, it is suggested that the nonwords employed were decisive in obtaining the results mentioned.