You are here

Local contextual impenetrability of lexical access and gap-filling: A comparison of outcomes from cross-modal lexical priming and word-by-word reading tasks

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1996
Summary:
Contextual impenetrability is the measurable consequence of informational encapsulation, which is a key feature of input systems hypothesized to be modular. The data from the current psycholinguistic literature do not clearly converge on support for or refutation of the modularity hypothesis with regard to the existence of contextual impenetrability for lexical access and gap-filling. Most previous research has focused on the influence of global context on lexical access. The experiments in this dissertation explore a more local context imposed by the argument structure and lexical conceptual structure of a verb on its direct object. The primary goal for this dissertation was to develop a set of test sentences appropriate for study with both cross-modal lexical priming and word-by-word reading to connect key experiments in the lexical access and gap-filling literature, then to determine if the outcomes supported or failed to support the existence of contextual impenetrability for lexical access and gap-filling. The outcomes of these experiments supported the hypothesis of contextual impenetrability for these linguistic operations. A secondary goal of this dissertation was to address recent criticisms of studies that have used cross-modal lexical priming to study the contextual impenetrability of gap-filling. The cross-modal lexical priming experiments in this dissertation demonstrated that it is unreasonable to attribute priming effects at hypothesized gap locations to artifacts such as hypothesized "continuation priming." The dissertation concludes with discussions of the implications of these results for two competing theories of mental structure (the modularity hypothesis and interactionist hypotheses) and recommendations for the appropriate interpretation of various experimental tasks and additional experiments.
Title: Local contextual impenetrability of lexical access and gap-filling: A comparison of outcomes from cross-modal lexical priming and word-by-word reading tasks.
142 views
50 downloads
Name(s): Lewis, James Robert
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Department of Psychology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1996
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 163 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Contextual impenetrability is the measurable consequence of informational encapsulation, which is a key feature of input systems hypothesized to be modular. The data from the current psycholinguistic literature do not clearly converge on support for or refutation of the modularity hypothesis with regard to the existence of contextual impenetrability for lexical access and gap-filling. Most previous research has focused on the influence of global context on lexical access. The experiments in this dissertation explore a more local context imposed by the argument structure and lexical conceptual structure of a verb on its direct object. The primary goal for this dissertation was to develop a set of test sentences appropriate for study with both cross-modal lexical priming and word-by-word reading to connect key experiments in the lexical access and gap-filling literature, then to determine if the outcomes supported or failed to support the existence of contextual impenetrability for lexical access and gap-filling. The outcomes of these experiments supported the hypothesis of contextual impenetrability for these linguistic operations. A secondary goal of this dissertation was to address recent criticisms of studies that have used cross-modal lexical priming to study the contextual impenetrability of gap-filling. The cross-modal lexical priming experiments in this dissertation demonstrated that it is unreasonable to attribute priming effects at hypothesized gap locations to artifacts such as hypothesized "continuation priming." The dissertation concludes with discussions of the implications of these results for two competing theories of mental structure (the modularity hypothesis and interactionist hypotheses) and recommendations for the appropriate interpretation of various experimental tasks and additional experiments.
Identifier: 9780591147155 (isbn), 12483 (digitool), FADT12483 (IID), fau:9376 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Adviser: Betty Tuller.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.
Subject(s): Language, Linguistics
Psychology, Cognitive
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12483
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.