Abstract
There is overwhelming evidence that during speech planning semantically related words become lexically activated and compete for selection with the to-be-produced target word. The vast majority of this evidence stems from studies using the picture-word task, in which a distractor word (e.g.,bird) drawn from the same semantic category as the target (e.g.,fish) was shown to inhibit the picture-naming response more strongly than did an unrelated distractor word. By contrast, corresponding evidence from distractor words (e.g.,carp) bearing a hierarchical relation to the target (e.g.,fish) is sparse and inconclusive. In the present study, we investigated effects of subordinate-level distractors during basiclevel naming and effects of basic-level distractors during subordinate-level naming. Hierarchically related distractors were found to inhibit the naming response in both situations. This pattern of results did not depend on whether the pictures were preferably named at the basic level or at the subordinate level. The results suggest that hierarchically related name alternatives compete for selection.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bloem, I., &La Heij, W. (2003). Semantic facilitation and semantic interference in word translation: Implications for models of lexical access in language production.Journal of Memory & Language,48, 468–488.
Caramazza, A., &Costa, A. (2000). The semantic interference effect in the picture-word interference paradigm: Does the response set matter?Cognition,75, B51-B64.
Clark, H. (1973). The language-as-fixed-effect fallacy: A critique of language statistics in psychological research.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,12, 335–359.
Clark, J. M., &Johnson, C. J. (1994). Retrieval mechanisms in the development of instance and superordinate naming of pictures.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,57, 295–326.
Costa, A., Mahon, B., Savova, V., &Caramazza, A. (2003). Level of categorization effect: A novel effect in the picture-word interference paradigm.Language & Cognitive Processes,18, 205–233.
Damian, M. F., &Bowers, J. S. (2003). Locus of semantic interference in picture-word interference tasks.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,10, 111–117.
Damian, M. F., &Martin, R. C. (1999). Semantic and phonological codes interact in single word production.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,25, 345–361.
Dell, G. S. (1986). A spreading-activation theory of retrieval in sentence production.Psychological Review,93, 283–321.
Glaser, W. R., &Düngelhoff, F. J. (1984). The time course of picture-word interference.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,10, 640–654.
Humphreys, G. W., &Forde, E. M. E. (2001). Hierarchies, similarity, and interactivity in object recognition: “Category-specific” neuropsychological deficits.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,24, 453–509.
Humphreys, G. W., Lamote, C., &Lloyd-Jones, T. J. (1995). An interactive activation approach to object processing: Effects of structural similarity, name frequency, and task in normality and pathology.Memory,3, 535–586.
Humphreys, G. W., Riddoch, M. J., &Quinlan, P. T. (1988). Cascade processes in picture identification.Cognitive NeuroPsychology,5, 67–103.
Irwin, D. I., &Lupker, S. J. (1983). Semantic priming of pictures and words: A levels of processing approach.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,22, 45–60.
Jescheniak, J. D., &Levelt, J. M. (1994). Word frequency effects in speech production: Retrieval of syntactic information and of phonological form.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,20, 824–843.
Jescheniak, J. D., Schriefers, H., &Hantsch, A. (2001). Semantic and phonological activation in noun and pronoun production.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,27, 1058–1078.
Jescheniak, J. D., Schriefers, H., &Hantsch, A. (2003). Utterance format affects phonological priming in the picture-word task: Implications for models of phonological encoding in speech production.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,29, 441–454.
Johnson, C. J., Paivio, A., &Clark, J. M. (1996). Cognitive components of picture naming.Psychological Bulletin,120, 113–139.
Jolicoeur, P., Gluck, M. A., &Kosslyn, S. M. (1984). Picture and names: Making the connection.Cognitive Psychology,16, 243–275.
Kuipers, J. R., & La Heij, W. (2004, September).When you call a dog an animal: Context effects in categorization tasks. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Language Production, Marseille, France.
Levelt, W. J. M., Roelofs, A., &Meyer, A. S. (1999). A theory of lexical access in speech production.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,22, 1–75.
Levelt, W. J. M., Schriefers, H., Vorberg, D., Meyer, A. S., Pechmann, T., &Havinga, J. (1991). The time course of lexical access in speech production: A study of picture naming.Psychological Review,98, 122–142.
Lin, E. L., Murphy, G. L., &Shoben, E. J. (1997). The effects of prior processing episodes on basic-level superiority.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,50A, 25–48.
Lupker, S. J. (1979). The semantic nature of response competition in the picture-word interference task.Memory & Cognition,7, 485–495.
Lupker, S. J., &Katz, A. N. (1981). Input, decision, and response factors in picture-word interference.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,7, 269–282.
MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review.Psychological Bulletin,109, 163–203.
Meyer, A. S., &Schriefers, H. (1991). Phonological facilitation in picture-word interference experiments: Effects of stimulus onset asynchrony and types of interfering stimuli.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,17, 1146–1160.
Murphy, G. L., &Wisniewski, E. J. (1989). Categorizing objects in isolation and in scenes: What a superordinate is good for.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 572–586.
Roelofs, A. (1992). A spreading-activation theory of lemma retrieval in speaking.Cognition,42, 107–142.
Roelofs, A. (1993). Testing a non-decompositional theory of lemma retrieval in speaking: Retrieval of verbs.Cognition,47, 59–87.
Roelofs, A. (2001). Set size and repetition matter: Comment on Caramazza and Costa (2000).Cognition,80, 283–290.
Rosch, E., Mervis, C. B., Gray, W. D., Johnson, D. M., &Boyes-Braem, P. (1976). Basic objects in natural categories.Cognitive Psychology,8, 382–439.
Rosinski, R. R. (1977). Picture-word interference is semantically based.Child Development,48, 643–647.
Schriefers, H., Meyer, A. S., &Levelt, W. J. M. (1990). Exploring the time course of lexical access in production: Picture-word interference studies.Journal of Memory & Language,29, 86–102.
Smith, M. C., &Magee, L. E. (1980). Tracing the time course of picture-word processing.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,109, 373–392.
Starreveld, P. A., &La Heij, W. (1995). Semantic interference, orthographic facilitation, and their interaction in naming tasks.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,21, 686–698.
Underwood, G. (1976). Semantic interference from unattended printed words.British Journal of Psychology,67, 327–338.
Vigliocco, G., Vinson, D. P., Martin, R. C., &Garrett, M. F. (1999). Is “count” and “mass” information available when the noun is not? An investigation of tip of the tongue states and anomia.Journal of Memory & Language,40, 534–558.
Vitkovitch, M., &Tyrrell, L. (1999). The effects of distractor words on naming pictures at the subordinate level.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,52A, 905–926.
Wingfield, A. (1967). Perceptual and response hierarchies in object identification.Acta Psychologica,26, 216–226.
Zwitserlood, P., Bölte, J., & Dohmes, P. (2004, September).A differential impact of semantic and morphological distractors on picture naming. Poster presented at the 10th Annual Conference on Architectures and Mechanisms of Language Processing (AMLaP), Aix-en-Provence, France.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by German Research Council Grants DFG JE229/2-3 and DFG JE229/6-1.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hantsch, A., Jescheniak, J.D. & Schriefers, H. Semantic competition between hierarchically related words during speech planning. Memory & Cognition 33, 984–1000 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193207
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193207