SingleWord Recognition Need Not Depend on Single

Authors: Dan W Teng Sebastian Wallot Damian G KeltyStephen

Publish Date: 2016/02/09

Volume: 45, Issue: 6, Pages: 1451-1472

PDF Link

Abstract

Research on reading comprehension of connected text emphasizes reliance on singleword features that organize a stable mental lexicon of words and that speed or slow the recognition of each new word However the time needed to recognize a word might not actually be as fixed as previous research indicates and the stability of the mental lexicon may change with task demands The present study explores the effects of narrative coherence in selfpaced story reading to singleword feature effects in lexical decision We presented single strings of letters to 24 participants in both lexical decision and selfpaced story reading Both tasks included the same words composing a set of adjective–noun pairs Reading times revealed that the tasks and the order of the presentation of the tasks changed and/or eliminated familiar effects of singleword features Specifically experiencing the lexicaldecision task first gradually emphasized the role of singleword features and experiencing the selfpaced storyreading task afterwards counteracted the effect of singleword features We discuss the implications that taskdependence and narrative coherence might have for the organization of the mental lexicon Future work will need to consider what architectures suit the apparent flexibility with which task can accentuate or diminish effects of singleword featuresThere was once a scientist who rose to fame due to his work on the atomic bomb Since his success he has moved to the Midwestern United States where he lives a simpler life Most mornings he spends drinking coffee and reading the newspaper on his terraceWatching the birds today he saw a cardinal bird at the feeder he has put up The sun was shining and he sat and sipped his coffee slowly working his way through the New York Times magazine A chill passed over him and he looked up to see cloudy weather covering up blue sky He walked indoors with his newspaper under his arm When he closed the sliding door behind him he noticed a weird burning smell coming from his kitchen He went to his kitchen and he saw his microwave on fire He soaked his newspaper in the faucet and slapped water against the microwave with his drenched paper until there was a steaming puddle of food and soggy paper on the counterOnce the fire was out he saw that someone had tried to reheat Chinese food in the microwave with the metal still attached to the takeout box The question was “who” The scientist never ordered this kind of food because he is allergic to MSG The burnt food sitting on the countertop begged for an explanation Someone must’ve placed it in his microwave but who and why His otherwise normal Sunday had turned into the beginning of an unsolved mystery As he tried to pick up what was left of the takeout box he burned his fingertips He cursed the man who discovered how to generate kinetic energy from microwaves He briefly thought about finding the serial number of his microwave Maybe he could get a free repair if it was under warranty but replacing his ruined kitchen appliance would not provide a meaningful answer to the mystery of the flaming Chinese food He felt compelled to seek answers even though he had turned away from nuclear research He never could turn down an intellectual challenge because he was an active boy at heart The scientist thought back to his distant community in Los Alamos where he and his former coworkers had exploded bombs at a furious pace“Thank Almighty God” he thought “that there were no inexplicable radiation fires back there” Well none besides the bomb testing which he regarded as having a just cause However he found the military even more confusing than his microwave problem For that sometimes the generals and offices called him a stuckup snob“Oh well” he sighed to himself There was nothing he could do about his faroff past Instead he tried to focus on the annoying present as the puddle began dripping onto the floor spattering his legs with browncolored water He finally arrived at a possible answer There was a hospital in Los Alamos where a kind medical doctor had offered someone of the nuclear researchers a workspace shortly following a minor accident The doctor had called him months ago wondering whether the physics research could return the favor He himself wondered if his friend would have just barged in without saying anything and used the microwave They were pretty immature guys back in the day playing pranks on the military with escaped lab rats but he didn’t think that his friend would assume he could walk right into his house Hello he called nervously From another room there was a frightened thump It was the doctor falling out of his chair in surprise He had thought the scientist was away while he was just reading the news and watching the birds The scientist had not heard the doorbell“Sorry to drop in on you like this but my wife divorced me She just stormed out calling me a filthy bum and the kids are in school so it’s an empty nest back home” When the doctor saw the microwave he remarked that he had always been a hopeless failure at cooking

Keywords: