Abstract
In Experiment 1, subjects read sentences containing a category name or a neutral prime that was followed by a target exemplar that varied in typicality. Fixation time on the target exemplar was the measure of processing difficulty. The category name facilitated processing for both high- and low-typicality exemplars. Unexpectedly, high-typicality exemplars were processed more quickly than low-typicality exemplars in both primed and unprimed conditions. Experiment 2 extended the priming effect to primary associates. Most importantly, the priming effect was influenced by the syntactic structure of the stimulus sentence. When both the prime and the associated target word were in the same clause, semantic priming occurred, but when the prime and target were in different clauses, no associative facilitation was observed. These results were interpreted as supporting a clausal processing hypothesis based on an autonomous modular view of the language processing system. Furthermore, the results were consistent with direct control models of eye movements, which claim that fixation duration reflects the timing of processing related to the word currently under fixation.
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This research was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the PhD at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, by the first author. It was supported by National Institute of Child Health Grants HD12727 and HD17246 (principal investigator. Keith Rayner).
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Carroll, P., Slowiaczek, M.L. Constraints on semantic priming in reading: A fixation time analysis. Mem Cogn 14, 509–522 (1986). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202522
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202522