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Abstract:
Some priming research has focused on whether types of
semantic information (associative vs. non-associative) and type of
presentation (word pair or word list) can influence automatic or
controlled processes. Kotz & Holcomb (1996) reported a visual
word list priming effect for associative relations in reaction time
measures (RTs) and an event-related potential (ERP) priming effect
for associative (cat-dog) and non-associative (horse-dog)
relations. To further test whether the priming mechanism(s) operate
in a modality specific way we investigated both visual and auditory
word lists with RTs and ERPs. Thirty-two subjects (16 per modality)
read or listened to words and pseudowords. Mean presentation time
of the words was the same in the visual and auditory modality.
Subjects performed a lexical decision task on each word. Reaction
time results in the auditory modality confirmed an associative
priming effect, but not a non-associative priming effect. RTs for
the visual modality only revealed this dissociation of type of
semantic information in the second half of the word list. Accuracy
data in both modalities revealed that subjects made more mistakes
for unrelated than related target words across types of semantic
information. The ERP data showed a significant priming effect
(N400) for both types of semantic information in both modalities.
These results indicate that the ERP priming effect does not differ
as a function of type of semantic information, while it does in the
RT data. These results are discussed within the context of the N400
effect and its relation to priming mechanism(s) and
modality.
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