Abstract
Three different tasks (word repetition, lexical decision, and gender decision) were designed to explore the impact of the sex clues (sex of the speaker, sex of the addressee) and the type of gender (semantic, arbitrary) on the processing of isolated Spanish gendered words. The findings showed that the grammatical gender feature was accessed when no mandatory attentional focus was required. In addition, the results indicated that the participants organize information according to their own sex role, which provides more salience to the words that match in grammatical gender with their own sex role representation, even when the gender assignment is arbitrary. Finally, the sex of the speaker biased the lexical access and the grammatical gender selection, serving as a semantic prime when the two dimensions have a congruent relationship. Furthermore, the masculine form serves as the generic gender representing both male and female figures.
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This research was supported by Grants PSI2013-46033-P and PCIN-2015-165-C02-01 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
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Appendix
Appendix
Type of gender | Grammatical gender | Spanish word | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
Arbitrary | Feminine | Acera | Sidewalk |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Acero | Steel |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Almendra | Almond |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Almendro | Almond tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Arca | Chest |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Arco | Bow |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Banca | Bench-ark |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Banco | Bench-bank |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Banda | Sash |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Bando | Side |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Bola | Ball |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Bolo | Skittle |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Bolsa | Bag |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Bolso | Purse |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Bomba | Bomb |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Bombo | Bass drum |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Caña | Rod |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Caño | Pipe |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Castaña | Chesnut |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Castaño | Chesnut tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Copa | Wineglass |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Copo | Flake |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Cuchilla | Blade |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Cuchillo | Knife |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Gorra | Cap |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Gorro | Hat |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Grada | Stands |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Grado | Degree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Leña | Firewood |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Leño | Log |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Manta | Blanket |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Manto | Cape |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Manzana | Apple |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Manzano | Apple tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Maza | Tenderiser |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Mazo | Mallet |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Naranja | Orange |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Naranjo | Orange tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Oliva | Olive |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Olivo | Olive tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Pala | Shovel |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Palo | Stick |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Pimienta | Pepper (spice) |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Pimiento | Pepper |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Plata | Silver |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Plato | Plate |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Plaza | Square |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Plazo | Instalments |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Poza | Puddle |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Pozo | Well (water) |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Puerta | Door |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Puerto | Harbour |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Punta | Point |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Punto | Spot |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Rama | Branch |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Ramo | Bouquet |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Tila | Lime blossom |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Tilo | Lime blossom tree |
Arbitrary | Feminine | Tuba | Tuba |
Arbitrary | Masculine | Tubo | Tube |
Semantic | Feminine | Abuela | Granmother |
Semantic | Masculine | Abuelo | Grandfather |
Semantic | Feminine | Amiga | Female friend |
Semantic | Masculine | Amigo | Male friend |
Semantic | Feminine | Búfala | Female bufalo |
Semantic | Masculine | Búfalo | Male bufalo |
Semantic | Feminine | Burra | Female donkey |
Semantic | Masculine | Burro | Male donkey |
Semantic | Feminine | Coneja | Doe |
Semantic | Masculine | Conejo | Rabbit |
Semantic | Feminine | Cordera | Female lamb |
Semantic | Masculine | Cordero | Male lamb |
Semantic | Feminine | Cubana | Female Cuban |
Semantic | Masculine | Cubano | Male Cuban |
Semantic | Feminine | Cuñada | Sister in law |
Semantic | Masculine | Cuñado | Brother in law |
Semantic | Feminine | Gallega | Female Galician |
Semantic | Masculine | Gallego | Male Galician |
Semantic | Feminine | Gata | Female cat |
Semantic | Masculine | Gato | Male cat |
Semantic | Feminine | Hermana | Sister |
Semantic | Masculine | Hermano | Brother |
Semantic | Feminine | Hija | Daugther |
Semantic | Masculine | Hijo | Son |
Semantic | Feminine | Loba | Female wolf |
Semantic | Masculine | Lobo | Male wolf |
Semantic | Feminine | Maestra | Female teacher |
Semantic | Masculine | Maestro | Male teacher |
Semantic | Feminine | Maga | Female magician |
Semantic | Masculine | Mago | Male magician |
Semantic | Feminine | Médica | Female doctor |
Semantic | Masculine | Médico | Male doctor |
Semantic | Feminine | Mula | Female mule |
Semantic | Masculine | Mulo | Male mule |
Semantic | Feminine | Nieta | Granddaugther |
Semantic | Masculine | Nieto | Grandson |
Semantic | Feminine | Niña | Girl |
Semantic | Masculine | Niño | Boy |
Semantic | Feminine | Notaria | Female notary |
Semantic | Masculine | Notario | Male notary |
Semantic | Feminine | Obrera | Female labourer |
Semantic | Masculine | Obrero | Male labourer |
Semantic | Feminine | Paloma | Female pigeon |
Semantic | Masculine | Palomo | Male pigeon |
Semantic | Feminine | Perra | Female dog |
Semantic | Masculine | Perro | Male dog |
Semantic | Feminine | Prima | Female cousin |
Semantic | Masculine | Primo | Male cousin |
Semantic | Feminine | Rumana | Female Romaninan |
Semantic | Masculine | Rumano | Male Romanian |
Semantic | Feminine | Rusa | Female Russian |
Semantic | Masculine | Ruso | Male Russian |
Semantic | Feminine | Ternera | Female calf |
Semantic | Masculine | Ternero | Male calf |
Semantic | Feminine | Tía | Aunt |
Semantic | Masculine | Tío | Uncle |
Semantic | Feminine | Turca | Female Turk |
Semantic | Masculine | Turco | Male Turk |
Semantic | Feminine | Vecina | Female neighbour |
Semantic | Masculine | Vecino | Male neighbour |
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Casado, A., Palma, A. & Paolieri, D. The Influence of Sex Information on Gender Word Processing. J Psycholinguist Res 47, 557–583 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-017-9546-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-017-9546-3