Abstract
In two experiments, we investigated the role of age of acquisition (AoA) in the categorizing of objects in semantic tasks that do not require access to the object names. In both afound inside or outside the house (Experiment 1A) and asmaller or larger than a loaf of bread (Experiment 2A) classification task, objects with earlier-acquired names were categorized more quickly than those with later-acquired names. Experiments 1B and 2B also showed AoA effects on object-naming times for the same pictures. We conclude that AoA operates within the identification process in a fashion not simply restricted to name retrieval. These effects may be better explained in terms of the connectionist model proposed by Ellis and Lambon Ralph (2000) or by accounts that locate AoA within the semantic system (e.g., Brysbaert, Van Wijnendaele, & De Deyne, 2000; van Loon-Vervoorn, 1989).
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The work of R.A.J. and C.B. has been supported by Grant F/00094/ AB from the Leverhulme Trust.
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Johnston, R.A., Barry, C. Age of acquisition effects in the semantic processing of pictures. Memory & Cognition 33, 905–912 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193084
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193084