A discourse on semantic priming

Foss, Donald J.

doi:10.1016/0010-0285(82)90020-2

Cited by 215 publications

(142 citation statements)

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“…Note that this updated version of word-based priming still excludes the influence of the larger context. Although we subscribe to word-based priming oflexical associates in isolation and ofcontiguous words in context, we do argue, however, that priming effects observed in connected discourse extend beyond intralexical priming and cannot be dismissed purely on the basis ofsuch claims (see, also, Foss, 1982;Hess, Foss, & Carroll, 1996). We predict that, even when multiple sources of potential lexical associates to a target word are present, no priming will occur if the semantic representation of a sentence as a whole is changed to be incompatible with the target word.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…By scrambling the experimental stimuli, the syntactic and semantic structure of each sentence would be eliminated, and the subjects would essentially be processing lists ofwords. It has been demonstrated that priming effects in word lists quickly diminish with time (see, e.g., Meyer, Schvaneveldt, & Ruddy, 1972) or with the intervention of one or more words between a priming word and a related target word (see, e.g., Foss, 1982;Gough, Alford, & HolIeyWilcox, 1981). The latter finding is compatible with Collins and Loftus (1975) and Anderson (1976), who have argued that the activation spreading through the mental lexicon must be dampened with each successive item encountered, otherwise the entire memory network would be activated with the processing ofone lexical item.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Without an intact syntactic structure, there will be no corresponding semantic representation to sustain activation ofeach word in working memory (cf. Foss, 1982). Consequently, although the noun, verb, and homonym associates of the target words are retained, the intervening items will prevent priming effects from combining and converging on the targets.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our argument is supported by the literature on text processing, in which it is proposed that processing of an item is facilitated as long as the word is related to the topic ofthe discourse (cf. Foss, 1982). Substituting the agent of the action with a general pronoun in Duffy et al (1989) is insufficient to eliminate the semantic relationship between a target word and the sentence topic.…”

Section: Sources Of Sentence Constraint 989mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sources of sentence constraint on lexical ambiguity resolution

Kellas

Paul

1998

Mem Cogn

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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.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sources Of Sentence Constraint 989mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sources of sentence constraint on lexical ambiguity resolution

Kellas

Paul

1998

Mem Cogn

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“…First, it indicates that automatic and unconscious processes of activation and spreading activation underlying priming and implicit memory, studied under specially designed laboratory conditions, do operate also outside the laboratory in people's everyday life (see also Foss, 1982 for discussing the ecological function of priming in natural language comprehension). This conclusion is probably not surprising but it is important in the light of recurrent debates about the ecological validity and generalizability of laboratory research in the past decade (Banaji, & Crowder, 1989; see also January issue of American Psychologist, 1991; June issue of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of one’s mind: A study of involuntary semantic memories

Kvavilashvili

Mandler

2004

Cognitive Psychology

198

209

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The study of memories that pop into one's mind without any conscious attempt to retrieve them began only recently. While there are some studies on involuntary autobiographical memories (e.g., Berntsen, 1996; research on involuntary semantic memories or mind-popping is virtually non existent. The latter is defined as an involuntary conscious occurrence of brief items of one's network of semantic knowledge. The recall of these items (e.g., a word, a name, a tune) is not accompanied by additional contextual information and/or involvement of self -a standard feature of involuntary autobiographical memories. The paper reports several diary and questionnaire studies which looked into the nature and frequency of occurrence of these memories. The data show that people do experience involuntary semantic memories which tend to occur without any apparent cues while being engaged in relatively automatic activities. Possible mechanisms of involuntary semantic memories are discussed (e.g., very long-term priming), and the results of the study provide information on the possible duration of the priming effects in everyday life.Related theoretical and methodological issues and future avenues of research in this neglected area are outlined.KEY WORDS: Involuntary memories, mind-popping, autobiographical memory, semantic memory, very long-term priming, implicit memory. 3Out of one's mind: A study of involuntary semantic memories Most laboratory studies of memory investigate processes which deliberately retrieve or identify information acquired in the past. However, much of our everyday remembering consists of information coming to mind involuntarily, i.e., without any conscious attempts to retrieve anything (Mandler, 1986; Winograd, 1993). This type of retrieval has been noted as far back as by Ebbinghaus (1885Ebbinghaus ( /1964 who, among other forms of memory, delineated memories which occur "with apparent spontaneity and without any act of will", and are "brought about through the instrumentality of other, immediately present mental images" (p. 2). Mandler (1989) claimed that "deliberate retrieval of information seems to be the exception rather than the rule" (p. 103). Thus, "we interrupt our stream of thought with ideas that suddenly 'come to mind', we are frequently 'reminded' of one or another occurrence in the past, and often we are aware of memories whose apparent irrelevance to the requirements of the moment surprises us" (p. 291, Mandler, 1986; our italics).Involuntary memories vary greatly in their character and conditions under which they occur (see Mandler, 1994). For example, the phenomenon of incubation, or a sudden recovery from the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state, or the realization that one had intended to do something at this particular moment (i.e., prospective remembering) -all refer to involuntary retrieval of certain memories and contents.Although the act of retrieval per se is non deliberate and usually sudden, in all those cases it is preceded by repeated attempts to solve a problem (incubation), by a memory...

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Script as a Priming Stimulus for Lexical Decisions with Visual Hemifield Stimulation

Faust

Babkoff

1997

Brain and Language

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A discourse on semantic priming

Cited by 215 publications

References 14 publications

Sources of sentence constraint on lexical ambiguity resolution

Sources of sentence constraint on lexical ambiguity resolution

Out of one’s mind: A study of involuntary semantic memories

Script as a Priming Stimulus for Lexical Decisions with Visual Hemifield Stimulation

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