Name-picture verification as a control measure for object naming: Data from British English speakers
The name-picture verification task is often used to assess the difficulty of prelexical
processes (object recognition and semantic access) during picture naming.
However, whether to use responses from word-picture match or from mismatch trials to
index the difficulty of pre-lexical processes is debated. Levelt (2002) argued for the use
of mismatch trials because on match trials the printed object name might facilitate picture
recognition. However, in a study with speakers of Spanish Stadthagen-Gonzalez et al.
(2009) showed that visual and conceptual properties of objects only correlated with the
latencies of match responses but not with those of mismatch responses and therefore
advocated the use of match responses. The present study aimed to replicate Stadthagen-
Gonzalez et al. (2009) findings using native British English speakers and English norms
for non-lexical and lexical variables. We replicated the finding that non-lexical variables
affected the speed of match, but not mismatch responses. However, in addition, we found
that lexical variables also affected the speed of match responses, which means that these
latencies need to be interpreted with caution. In other words, neither match nor mismatch
responses seem ideally suited to assess the difficulty of pre-lexical processes in picture
naming.
Levelt, W. J. M. (2002). Picture naming and word frequency. Language and Cognitive
Processes, 17, 663–671.
Stadthagen-Gonzalez, H., Damian, M. F., Pérez, M. A., Bowers, J. S., & Marín, J. (2009).
Name-picture verification as a control measure for object naming: A task analysis and
norms for a
Publication type
PosterPublication date
2010
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