Negative priming from the non-selected meaning of the homograph.

Full Abstract

In this article we address the question of whether semantic ambiguity resolution involves the central inhibition of the non-selected meaning of a homograph. Most previous studies on this topic have either not clearly required semantic selection, or have induced this disambiguation by manipulating the context. These studies have not observed clear inhibitory effects on the non-selected meaning of the type studied in negative priming. We suggest that this kind of central inhibition may depend on task demands, and will be more easily observed in tasks where meaning selection is clearly required and is not made easier by cueing or context. In this study, participants had to perform a semantic judgment task in the prime display. Semantic priming from both the selected and the non-selected meaning of homographs was measured by showing facilitation for the selected meaning and inhibitory effects of the non-selected meaning. Participants with slow but accurate performance during the task were mainly responsible for this semantic negative priming effect, reflecting the role of inhibition on task-oriented control. The 'negative priming' effect is discussed in relation to current theories of attentional selection.

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Author information

Author/s: Nievas, Francisco (F); Marí-Beffa, Paloma (P);

Affiliation: University of Almería, Spain.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) (Br J Psychol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Feb; vol 93 (issue Pt 1) : pp 47-66

Dates: Created 2002/02/12; Completed 2002/04/02; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11839101, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Female
Humans

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