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Vol.33 No.2

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Abstract

Recent studies suggest that response times (RTs) measured in web-based cognitive experiments are as valid and reliable as the RTs measured in offline experiments. The present study aimed to replicate the effects of word predictability in self-paced sentence reading, which had been found in offline experiment results, using an online experiment platform implemented with PsychoPy and Pavlovia. To do this, we compared the self-paced reading times for a predictable word in a sentential context with those for an unpredictable word. Results of our web-based self-paced reading task showed a significantly longer RT for words that are difficult to predict given the context compared to predictable words. This finding successfully replicates the word predictability effect in sentence processing, thus supporting the use of online platforms for cognitive/psychological experiments at the era of the untact.

Rebecca B. Weldon(SUNY Polytechnic Institute) ; Eva Zita Patai(King’s College London) ; (George Washington University) ; pp.95-106 https://doi.org/10.22172/cogbio.2021.33.2.002
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Abstract

The conflict effect is typically smaller following incongruent than congruent trials, and this trial-by-trial modulation has been interpreted as evidence for increased top-down control for efficient selection of task-relevant information. An alternative explanation suggests that this modulation is due to bottom-up feature integration, the notion that stimulus and response features from one trial are automatically bound in an event file. Therefore, complete repetition or alternation of stimulus and response features across trials results in better performance than partial repetition of features, since the latter requires unbinding of the event file from the previous trial. In the present study, using the Simon task, we examined how working memory capacity (WMC) is related to the top-down and bottom-up components of the modulation of the conflict effect. We found that: 1) WMC was negatively correlated with the trial-by-trial Simon effect on partial repetition trials, the portion that reflects top-down control processing. 2) WMC was not associated with the Simon effect of complete repetitions and alternations, the portion that reflects bottom-up processing. 3) Medium and high WMC individuals may be using a different strategy than low WMC individuals. In combination, our findings lend insight into factors that may relate to the trial-by-trial modulation of the Simon effect. Implications for these findings are discussed.

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Abstract

Compound word spacing is quite a complex and ambiguous issue in Korean grammar. To establish a more clear and efficient grammar, many empirical findings need to be accumulated. The purpose of this study is to find out how spacing affects the understanding of Korean compound nouns when reading natural sentences. In this study, compound nouns formed by combining two or three constituents(each word that makes up a compound noun has two syllables) were used as stimuli, which are permitted in both spaced and unspaced forms under the current Korean grammar rules. These manipulated compound noun phrases were embedded in same sentences. Participants read a sentence containing a compound noun phrase for each trial and responded to a simple question of judging true or false about the sentence. In the meantime, the eye movements of the participants were recorded. The overall results showed that the spaced conditions were longer in several eye movement measures such as the total time(TT) compared to the unspaced conditions. There was no significant difference in the correct rate of true/false questions between the two conditions, so it was plausible that there was no notable difference in the degree of comprehension of sentences. Therefore, we concluded that for the type of Korean compound word used in the experiment (2syllables × 2, 2syllables × 3), information is processed faster when not spaced. Interestingly, we also found the interaction between the number of constituent words in compound words and the existence of space on the gaze duration(GZD), and similar tendencies on other eye movement measures were observed. Based on these results, this study suggested that the effect of spacing may vary depending on the length or composition of compound words.

The Korean Journal of Cognitive and Biological Psychology