What is 'semantic priming' in psycholinguistic experiments?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A target word is recognized faster when preceded by a semantically related prime
Semantic priming is an experimental finding where reaction times to a target word (e.g., 'doctor') are shortened if it follows a related prime (e.g., 'nurse'). This happens because the prime partially activates neighboring concepts within an interconnected semantic network in the brain. It provides strong empirical evidence for how concepts are organized in human memory.
Keep practicing
More Psycholinguistics questions
- In speech comprehension, what is the 'Phonemic Restoration Effect'?
- What is the primary function of the 'Mental Lexicon' in psycholinguistic modeling?
- What does the 'Cohort Model' explain regarding human spoken word recognition?
- Which of the following describes a 'garden-path sentence' in psycholinguistic processing?
- In the study of speech errors, what happens during a classic 'Spoonerism'?
- What psycholinguistic phenomenon is described by the 'Tip-of-the-Tongue' (TOT) state?