Weaker than you might imagine : Determining imageability effects on word recognition

Dymarska, A. and Connell, L. and Banks, B. (2023) Weaker than you might imagine : Determining imageability effects on word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 129: 104398. ISSN 0749-596X

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Imageability – the ease of generating a mental image for a word – has been commonly used as a predictor of word recognition but its effects are highly variable across the literature, raising questions about the robustness and stability of the construct. We compared six existing imageability norms in their ability to predict RT and accuracy in lexical decision and word naming across thousands of words. Results showed that, when lexical and sensorimotor sources of variance were partialled out, imageability predicted little unique variance in word recognition performance and effect sizes varied greatly between norms. Further analysis suggested that such heterogenous effect sizes are likely due to inconsistent strategies in how participants interpret and rate imageability in norming studies, despite consistent instructions. Our findings suggest that the ease of generating a mental image for a word does not reliably facilitate word recognition and that imageability ratings should be used with caution in such research.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Memory and Language
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1700/1702
Subjects:
?? imageabilitysensorimotor informationsituated simulationword recognitionadultarticlecontrolled studyeffect sizefemalehumanhuman experimentmalesimulationword recognitionartificial intelligenceneuropsychology and physiological psychologylinguistics and langu ??
ID Code:
183844
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
17 Jan 2023 16:55
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 23:26