scholarly journals Suppression in interpreting adjective noun combinations and the nature of the lexicon

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-751
Author(s):  
Lotte Hogeweg
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Semantic Structure ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Initial Activation ◽  
Internal Lexicon ◽  
Experimental Findings

Abstract A common assumption about our internal lexicon is that the meaning of words is underspecified and this underspecified representation is filled in based on the context in which the word occurs. In this paper I would like to explore a different hypothesis, that words are stored with overspecified representations which are ‘trimmed down’ by the context. This view seems to be in line with a well-known mechanism from psycholinguistics: suppression. Many studies have shown that conceptual properties of a word are initially activated but subsequently suppressed when these properties are in conflict with the context the word occurs in. This mechanism has not been tested, however, in a context where compositional application takes place as between an adjective and a noun. In this study I will discuss two lexical decision experiments testing the interpretation of two types of adjective noun combinations. For both types of combinations it is expected that the representation of the noun undergoes a change due to the conflicting information provided by the adjective. It is hypothesized that the properties of the noun that are in conflict with the adjective are initially activated, but subsequently suppressed to form a coherent representation of the adjective noun combination. While the results provide evidence for the initial activation of the conceptual properties, no evidence for the subsequent suppression was found. The initial activation shows that also in the case of adjective noun combinations, conceptual features do not ‘wait for’ an initial well-formed semantic structure. The lack of evidence for suppression primarily suggests the need for further research. If future experiments confirm that suppression does not take place within the time frame tested in the experiments, we must conclude, based on experimental findings by Schumacher (2013), that conceptual specification takes place after the shift in reference of the noun.

On twittizens and city residents

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
Elizaveta Tarasova ◽  
Natalia Beliaeva
Keyword(s):  
Formation Mechanism ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Semantic Structure ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Semantic Level ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
Experimental Findings

Abstract The present study analyses native speaker perceptions of the differences in the semantic structure of compounds and blends to specify whether the formal differences between compounds and blends are reflected on the semantic level. Viewpoints on blending vary, with some researchers considering it to be an instance of compounding (Kubozono, 1990), while others identify blending as an interim word formation mechanism between compounding and shortening (López Rúa, 2004). The semantic characteristics of English determinative blends and N+N subordinative compounds are compared by evaluating the differences in native speakers’ perceptions of the semantic relationships between constituents of the analysed structures. The results of two web-based experiments demonstrate that readers’ interpretations of both compounds and blends differ in terms of lexical indicators of semantic relations between the elements of these units. The experimental findings indicate that language users’ interpretation of both compounds and blends includes information on semantic relationships. The differences in the effect of the semantic relations on interpretations is likely to be connected to the degree of formal transparency of these units.

Corrosion Performance Projection of Yucca Mountain Waste Packages

2002 ◽  
Vol 713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto A. Sagüés
Keyword(s):  
Time Frame ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Localized Corrosion ◽  
Nuclear Waste Repository ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Service Period ◽  
Alloy 22 ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain relies heavily on the corrosion resistance of waste packages (WP) emplaced in tunnels bored through tuffaceous rock for adequate performance during the anticipated 10,000 years regulatory period. Present WP design uses a ∼20-mm-thick outer shell of Alloy 22 as the main corrosion-resistant barrier. The operating conditions may include an initial high-temperature (>96 °C) pulse that will last approximately several hundred to a thousand years. Ti-alloy shields are envisioned to prevent water from directly dripping on the WP. However, recent findings suggest that deliquescent salts and other contaminants on the WP surfaces may cause liquid water to form there, even at high temperatures. Current performance projections predict that during the anticipated regulatory period localized corrosion modes will be unlikely and that the Alloy 22 barrier will degrade primarily by very slow uniform dissolution, essentially under passive surface conditions. A review is presented of the assumptions and experimental findings leading to those projections, as well as a discussion of findings of a recent Workshop on the challenges involved in extrapolating limited information on corrosion behavior over an extremely long service period that extends beyond the time frame of common engineering experience. Potential mechanisms for deterioration of the passive regime that may be encountered under those circumstances are discussed.

scholarly journals A Comparative Analysis on Organic and Inorganic Core Binders for a Gravity Diecasting Al Alloy Component

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fortini ◽  
M. Merlin ◽  
G. Raminella
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Absorption ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Al Alloy ◽  
Alloy Component ◽  
Core System ◽  
Dimensional Changes ◽  
Component Design ◽  
Experimental Findings

AbstractThe last two decades have seen a growing trend toward the use of inorganic binders in core making for the metalcasting field. Despite the health and environmental benefits of the inorganic binders, wider commercial use requires ongoing technical improvements to address some potential inherent limitations of this technology. Considering that inorganic cores can suffer from storage stability, this study sets out to check whether inorganic core binders are fit to replace organic ones in producing a gravity diecasting Al alloy component. First, the humidity resistance of both organic and inorganic sand cores, within a typical time-frame storage in the foundry, was evaluated by moisture absorption tests. Then, 3D optical measurements were performed to assess the relative dimensional changes of inorganic cores. Last, the influence of the core system was analyzed through microstructural and mechanical investigations on castings manufactured by using organic and inorganic binders. The experimental findings have shown that the moisture absorption during storage in the foundry warehouse, which lasted up to 14 days, was not enough to jeopardize the functionality of the cores. Furthermore, the tensile and microstructural outcomes revealed that inorganic cores could comply with both high component design requirements and even more stringent environmental regulations of foundries.

Recognition of Japanese Kana Words in Priming Tasks

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 907-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takehiko Hirose
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Phonological Recoding ◽  
Shallow Orthography ◽  
Internal Lexicon ◽  
Japanese Kana ◽  
Target Words

The processes of lexical access in two types of Kana (Japanese syllabic scripts), Hiragana and Katakana, were studied by means of lexical decision and naming experiments. Each target word was preceded by a word that was either related or unrelated semantically. The semantic priming of target words facilitated performance in both lexical decision and naming for Katakana words that were conventionally written in Katakana (e.g., foreign loanwords are normally written in Katakana). In contrast, semantic priming facilitated only lexical decision for these words written in Hiragana. These results suggest that (1) for foreign loanwords written in Katakana, lexical decision and naming are influenced by the internal lexicon and (2) for foreign loanwords written in Hiragana, naming is not strongly influenced by the internal lexicon. This supports the notion that lexical access of some Kana (phonologically shallow orthography) words can be achieved without phonological recoding.

scholarly journals The processing of pseudoword form and meaning in production and comprehension: A computational modeling approach using Linear Discriminative Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ying Chuang ◽  
Marie-lenka Voller ◽  
Elnaz Shafaei-Bajestan ◽  
Susanne Gahl ◽  
Peter Hendrix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Discriminative Learning ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Auditory Lexical Decision ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Morphological Theory ◽  
Shed Light

Pseudowords have long served as key tools in psycholinguistic investigations of the lexicon. A common assumption underlying the use of pseudowords is that they are devoid of meaning: Comparing words and pseudowords may then shed light on how meaningful linguistic elements are processed differently from meaningless sound strings.However, pseudowords may in fact carry meaning. On the basis of a computational model of lexical processing, Linear Discriminative Learning (LDL Baayen et al., 2019), we compute numeric vectors representing the semantics of pseudowords. We demonstrate that quantitative measures gauging the semantic neighborhoods of pseudowords predict reaction times in the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision (MALD) database (Tucker et al., 2018). We also show that the model successfully predicts the acoustic durations of pseudowords. Importantly, model predictions hinge on the hypothesis that the mechanisms underlying speech production and comprehension interact. Thus, pseudowords emerge as an outstanding tool for gauging the resonance between production and comprehension.Many pseudowords in the MALD database contain inflectional suffixes. Unlike many contemporary models, LDL captures the semantic commonalities of forms sharing inflectional exponents without using the linguistic construct of morphemes. We discuss methodological and theoretical implications for models of lexical processing and morphological theory. The results of this study, complementing those on real words reported in Baayen et al. (2019), thus provide further evidence for the usefulness of LDL both as a cognitive model of the mental lexicon, and as a tool for generating new quantitative measures that are predictive for human lexical processing.

scholarly journals Word Frequency Effect in Lexical Decision Task: Evidence from Khalkha Mongolian

2019 ◽  
pp. 1954-1964
Author(s):  
Mikhail S. Vlasov ◽  
Tumee Odonchimeg ◽  
Vasha Sainbaiar ◽  
Tat‘iana I. Gromoglasova
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Real Word ◽  
Word Frequency Effect ◽  
Lexical Memory ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Experimental Findings

In experimental psycholinguistics, one clue into the architecture of lexical memory comes from the presence of robust frequency effects in lexical decision task (LDT), in which subjects judge whether a written stimulus is a real word or a nonword, and processing complexity is measured by reaction time (RT). For example, in LDT the visual word recognition process is facilitated (or inhibited) by word frequency as measured from the representative corpus. Our study verifies the word frequency effect in standard (“yes/no task”) LDT performed by Khalkha Mongolian subjects. The results showed strong weight of word frequency as RTs predictor (R2 = .631, F (1, 28) = 50.57, p < .000, β = .802, t = 7.111, p < .000). Our experimental results also correspond to experimental findings on word frequency effects for Japanese Katakana (syllabic) and Kanji (logographic) words in standard LDT. Such lexical decision “script moderation” could be the actual clue for further LDT experiments (e. g., relatively “deep” Mongolian script vs. “shallow” Cyrillic Mongolian)

Interhemispheric transfer evaluation in multiple sclerosis 1The authors would like to thank Claude-Alain Hauert and Christoph Michel for their assistance in the evaluation of motor tapping and Michel Habib for his suggestions and comments. This work was supported by a grant from the Swiss Society of Multiple Sclerosis.

2000 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 150-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Ortiz ◽  
Michael Reicherts ◽  
Alan J. Pegna ◽  
Encarni Garran ◽  
Michel Chofflon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Dichotic Listening ◽  
Neurological Impairment ◽  
Interhemispheric Transfer ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Swiss Society ◽  
Listening Test ◽  
Relapsing Remitting

Patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have frequently been found to suffer from damage to callosal fibers. Investigations have shown that this damage is associated with signs of hemisphere disconnections. The aim of our study was to provide evidence for the first signs of interhemispheric dysfunction in a mildly disabled MS population. Therefore, we explored whether the Interhemispheric Transfer (IT) deficit is multi-modal and sought to differentiate two MS evolution forms, on the basis of an interhemispheric disconnection index. Twenty-two patients with relapsing-remitting form of MS (RRMS) and 14 chronic-progressive (CPMS) were compared with matched controls on four tasks: a tachistoscopic verbal and non-verbal decision task, a dichotic listening test, cross tactile finger localization and motor tapping. No overall impairment was seen. The dichotic listening and lexical decision tasks were the most sensitive to MS. In addition, CPMS patients' IT was more impaired and was related to the severity of neurological impairment. The different sizes of the callosal fibers, which determine their vulnerability, may explain the heterogeneity of transfer through the Corpus Callosum. Therefore, evaluation of IT may be of value as an index of evolution in MS.

Effect of Emotions in a Lexical Decision Task

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Maire ◽  
Renaud Brochard ◽  
Jean-Luc Kop ◽  
Vivien Dioux ◽  
Daniel Zagar
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Sequence Effect ◽  
Emotion Induction ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. This study measured the effect of emotional states on lexical decision task performance and investigated which underlying components (physiological, attentional orienting, executive, lexical, and/or strategic) are affected. We did this by assessing participants’ performance on a lexical decision task, which they completed before and after an emotional state induction task. The sequence effect, usually produced when participants repeat a task, was significantly smaller in participants who had received one of the three emotion inductions (happiness, sadness, embarrassment) than in control group participants (neutral induction). Using the diffusion model ( Ratcliff, 1978 ) to resolve the data into meaningful parameters that correspond to specific psychological components, we found that emotion induction only modulated the parameter reflecting the physiological and/or attentional orienting components, whereas the executive, lexical, and strategic components were not altered. These results suggest that emotional states have an impact on the low-level mechanisms underlying mental chronometric tasks.

Effects of Momentary Affect on Satisfaction Judgments

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
Marko Tončić ◽  
Petra Anić
Keyword(s):  
Linear Models ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Models ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Transient Events ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Events Data ◽  
Level Satisfaction ◽  
Source Of Information

Abstract. This study aims to examine the effect of affect on satisfaction, both at the between- and the within-person level for momentary assessments. Affect is regarded as an important source of information for life satisfaction judgments. This affective effect on satisfaction is well established at the dispositional level, while at the within-person level it is heavily under-researched. This is true especially for momentary assessments. In this experience sampling study both mood and satisfaction scales were administered five times a day for 7 days via hand-held devices ( N = 74 with 2,122 assessments). Several hierarchical linear models were fitted to the data. Even though the amount of between-person variance was relatively low, both positive and negative affect had substantial effects on momentary satisfaction on the between- and the within-person level as well. The within-person effects of affect on satisfaction appear to be more pronounced than the between-person ones. At the momentary level, the amount of between-person variance is lower than in studies with longer time-frames. The affect-related effects on satisfaction possibly have a curvilinear relationship with the time-frame used, increasing in intensity up to a point and then decreasing again. Such a relationship suggests that, at the momentary level, satisfaction might behave in a more stochastic manner, allowing for transient events/data which are not necessarily affect-related to affect it.

Are Emotions Abstract or Concrete?

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 315-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Xu ◽  
Chunyan Kang ◽  
Kaia Sword ◽  
Taomei Guo
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
N400 Amplitude ◽  
Abstract Nouns ◽  
Concrete Nouns ◽  
Emotion Concepts ◽  
Healthy Participants

Abstract. The ability to identify and communicate emotions is essential to psychological well-being. Yet research focusing exclusively on emotion concepts has been limited. This study examined nouns that represent emotions (e.g., pleasure, guilt) in comparison to nouns that represent abstract (e.g., wisdom, failure) and concrete entities (e.g., flower, coffin). Twenty-five healthy participants completed a lexical decision task. Event-related potential (ERP) data showed that emotion nouns elicited less pronounced N400 than both abstract and concrete nouns. Further, N400 amplitude differences between emotion and concrete nouns were evident in both hemispheres, whereas the differences between emotion and abstract nouns had a left-lateralized distribution. These findings suggest representational distinctions, possibly in both verbal and imagery systems, between emotion concepts versus other concepts, implications of which for theories of affect representations and for research on affect disorders merit further investigation.

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