Lexical interference in semantic processing of simple words: Implications for brand names
✍ Scribed by Judith E. Hennessey; Theodore S. Bell; Robert J. Kwortnik
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 121 KB
- Volume
- 22
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0742-6046
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This study provides evidence for a Stroop-like interference effect in word recognition. Based on phonologic and semantic properties of simple words, participants who performed a same/different wordrecognition task exhibited a significant response latency increase when word pairs (e.g., poll-rod) featured a comparison word (poll) that was a homonym of a synonym (pole) of the target word (rod). These results support a parallel-processing framework of lexical decision making, in which activation of the pathways to word recognition may occur at different levels automatically and in parallel. A subset of simple words that are also brand names was examined and exhibited this same interference. Implications for word-recognition theory and practical implications for strategic marketing are discussed.