Repetition deficits, list context, and word-class interactions in the RSVP of words in sentences.

Full Abstract

We report a failure to find a repetition deficit in recall following the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words within sentences, using adjectives rather than nouns as the critical items. In a series of experiments that ruled out participant and procedural differences as the source of the failure, both word class and list context were found to moderate the repetition deficit, but grammatical necessity did not. The presence in the list of sentences in which the repeated adjectives were separated by more than three words (i.e., more than 400 ms in RSVP) not only eliminated the repetition deficit for the recall of those sentences but also for the recall of sentences in which the repeated adjectives were separated by three or fewer words (i.e., less than 400 ms in RSVP). However, although substantially reduced, a repetition deficit with noun-based materials was still found in this list context. Matching the adjective-based sentences with the noun-based sentences in sentence length and position of the critical items revealed that the moderating effect of word-class on the repetition deficit was mediated by the biases in sentence structure that using different word classes tend to induce.

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Author information

Author/s: Vokey, John R (JR); Allen, Scott W (SW);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4. vokey@uleth.ca

Journal and publication information

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

Journal: Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale (Can J Exp Psychol), published in Canada. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jun; vol 56 (issue 2) : pp 98-111

Dates: Created 2002/06/17; Completed 2002/08/14; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12066424, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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