Early decomposition in visual word recognition: Dissociating morphology, form, and meaning

Figures & data

TABLE 1. Experiment 1a-c: Test conditions and sample stimuli

Condition	Example prime-target pair	Morphological decomposability	Semantic relatedness	Orthographic overlap
1	scandal-scan	−M	−S	+O
2	archer-arch	+M	−S	+O
3	barely-bare	+M	MidS	+O
4	attach-glue	−M	MidS	−O
5	bravely-brave	+M	+S	+O
6	accuse-blame	−M	+S	−O
+/ − M: Morphologically decomposable/not decomposable; +/ − O: Orthographic overlap high/low; +/Mid/ − S: Semantically highly related/moderately related/unrelated.

TABLE 2. Experiment 1a-c: Stimulus properties across test conditions

			Length		Lemma frequency		N size		Word-form frequency
Condition	Sem-rel	% form overlap	prime	target	prime	target	prime	target	prime	target
1. −M-S + O scandal-scan	1.5	.57	6.4	3.7	13.1	16.5	1.1	9.9	9.6	11.0
2. +M − S + O archer–arch	2.2	.66	6.3	4.1	8.0	16.7	2.4	9.7	5.8	10.5
3. +M midS +O barely-bare	4.6	.69	6.3	4.3	7.4	22.0	2.1	7.5	6.8	11.9
4. −M midS +O attach-glue	5.1	n/a	5.9	4.4	12.4	24.5	3.0	6.3	5.5	10.5
5. +M + S+O bravely-brave	7.7	.69	6.8	4.6	7.4	21.8	0.9	6.7	6.6	15.0
6. −M + S − accuse-blame	7.8	n/a	5.5	4.3	14.2	23.9	3.1	8.6	7.9	14.2
+/ − M: Morphologically decomposable/not decomposable; +/ − O: Orthographic overlap high/low; +/Mid/ − S: Semantically highly related/moderately related/unrelated; Sem-rel = semantic relatedness.

Figure 1.  Mean priming effects at each SOA for Conditions 1–6.

TABLE 3. Experiment 1a-c: Harmonic mean RTs (ms) and error rates (%)

		36 ms		48 ms		72 ms
Condition	SOA Prime Type	RT (error)	Priming (ms)	RT (error)	Priming (ms)	RT (error)	Priming (ms)
1.  − M−S +O (scandal-scan)	Test	525 (12%)	14	539 (12%)	9	563 (15%)	17
	Control	539 (10%)		547 (12%)		580 (10%)
2.  + M − S +O (archer–arch)	Test	507 (7%)	21 **	513 (5%)	23 **	523 (6%)	35 **
	Control	528 (6%)		536 (7%)		558 (7%)
3. + M mid S +O (barely–bare)	Test	504 (9%)	28 **	505 (7%)	29 **	525 (5%)	43 **
	Control	533 (12%)		534 (11%)		567 (12%)
4. -M mid S–O (attach–glue)	Test	527 (11%)	11	532 (8%)	10	564 (8%)	3
	Control	538 (11%)		542 (9%)		567 (10%)
5.  + M +S +O (bravely–brave)	Test	495 (5%)	18 *	493 (3%)	36 **	505 (2%)	41 **
	Control	513 (5%)		529 (6%)		547 (4%)
6.  − M +S − O (accuse–blame)	Test	517 (6%)	13 (*)	523 (6%)	18 *	537 (3%)	19 *
	Control	530 (6%)		541 (7%)		556 (9%)
+/ − M: Morphologically decomposable/not decomposable; +/ − O: Orthographic overlap high/low; +/Mid/ − S: Semantically highly related/moderately related/unrelated.

TABLE 4. Experiment 2: Harmonic mean RTs (ms) and error rates (%)

Condition	Test prime	Control prime	Priming (ms)
1. –M − S +O (scan-scandal)	581 (6.5)	589 (3.9)	7
2.  + M −S +O (arch–archer)	581 (6.0)	601 (8.4)	20 *
3. + M mid S +O (bare–barely)	572 (6.0)	589 (6.8)	17 (*)
4. -M mid S − O (attach–glue)	582 (7.0)	595 (6.7)	14 (*)
5.  + M +S +O (brave–bravely)	567 (8.4)	588 (6.2)	21 *
6.  − M +S − O (accuse–blame)	581 (6.5)	604 (6.9)	23 *
+/ − M: Morphologically decomposable/not decomposable; +/ − O: Orthographic overlap high/low; +/Mid/ − S: Semantically highly related/moderately related/unrelated.

Table

Condition 1	prime	target
−M − S +O	antique	ant
− M−S +O	easel	ease
−M − S +O	fluid	flu
−M − S +O	curtain	curt
−M − S +O	ginger	gin
−M − S +O	harmony	harm
−M − S +O	grammar	gram
−M − S +O	fortune	fort
−M − S +O	napkin	nap
−M − S +O	nickel	nick
−M − S +O	palace	pal
−M − S +O	pumpkin	pump
−M − S +O	textile	text
−M − S +O	tinsel	tin
−M − S +O	bandit	ban
−M − S +O	bunch	bun
−M − S +O	chaplain	chap
−M − S +O	dollop	doll
−M − S +O	harpoon	harp
−M − S +O	humble	hum
−M − S +O	monkey	monk
−M − S +O	pillar	pill
−M − S +O	scandal	scan
−M − S +O	whimper	whim
Condition 2	prime	target
+M − S +O	archer	arch
+M − S +O	blazer	blaze
+M − S +O	bracelet	brace
+M − S +O	choppy	chop
+M − S +O	coaster	coast
+M − S +O	cottage	cot
+M − S +O	crabby	crab
+M − S +O	grateful	grate
+M − S +O	muggy	mug
+M − S +O	petty	pet
+M − S +O	porter	port
+M − S +O	whisker	whisk
+M − S +O	bloomer	bloom
+M − S +O	corny	corn
+M − S +O	grubby	grub
+M − S +O	larder	lard
+M − S +O	rafter	raft
+M − S +O	rattle	rat
+M − S +O	rustic	rust
+M − S +O	seedy	seed
+M − S +O	solvent	solve
+M − S +O	spanner	span
+M − S +O	sweater	sweat
+M − S +O	witness	wit
Condition 3	prime	target
+M midS +O	beefy	beef
+M midS +O	bumper	bump
+M midS +O	cracker	crack
+M midS +O	folder	fold
+M midS +O	foxy	fox
+M midS +O	frisky	frisk
+M midS +O	locker	lock
+M midS +O	prudent	prude
+M midS +O	purely	pure
+M midS +O	sneaker	sneak
+M midS +O	splinter	splint
+M midS +O	trailer	trail
+M midS +O	urgent	urge
+M midS +O	barely	bare
+M midS +O	boiler	boil
+M midS +O	bowler	bowl
+M midS +O	cheeky	cheek
+M midS +O	goatee	goat
+M midS +O	knotty	knot
+M midS +O	luggage	lug
+M midS +O	lofty	loft
+M midS +O	solely	sole
+M midS +O	stainless	stain
+M midS +O	steamer	steam
Condition 4	prime	target
−M midS −O	alloy	mix
−M midS −O	blunt	dull
−M midS −O	button	zip
−M midS −O	ceiling	roof
−M midS −O	chisel	carve
−M midS −O	claw	hook
−M midS −O	cling	grab
−M midS −O	confuse	stun
−M midS −O	dangle	tease
−M midS −O	frond	fern
−M midS −O	greed	envy
−M midS −O	plaster	putty
−M midS −O	attach	glue
−M midS −O	buzz	sing
−M midS −O	choir	band
−M midS −O	deluge	flood
−M midS −O	glimmer	spark
−M midS −O	grievance	grudge
−M midS −O	haggard	ugly
−M midS −O	muddy	muck
−M midS −O	rake	fork
−M midS −O	random	guess
−M midS −O	squeeze	scratch
−M midS −O	dentist	fang
Condition 5	prime	target
+M +S +O	bravely	brave
+M +S +O	calmness	calm
+M +S +O	cheerful	cheer
+M +S +O	cruelly	cruel
+M +S +O	densely	dense
+M +S +O	dimly	dim
+M +S +O	drainage	drain
+M +S +O	foolish	fool
+M +S +O	fussy	fuss
+M +S +O	healer	heal
+M +S +O	hunter	hunt
+M +S +O	trashy	trash
+M +S +O	chilly	chill
+M +S +O	faithful	faith
+M +S +O	flashy	flash
+M +S +O	graceful	grace
+M +S +O	herbal	herb
+M +S +O	heroic	hero
+M +S +O	lonely	lone
+M +S +O	moisture	moist
+M +S +O	stormy	storm
+M +S +O	thriller	thrill
+M +S +O	trickery	trick
+M +S +O	wrecker	wreck
Condition 6	prime	target
−M +S −O	alley	lane
−M +S −O	arctic	polar
−M +S −O	rash	bang
−M +S −O	debt	owe
−M +S −O	fabric	cloth
−M +S −O	jovial	merry
−M +S −O	lorry	truck
−M +S −O	pill	drug
−M +S −O	pitcher	jug
−M +S −O	rigid	stiff
−M +S −O	scalpel	blade
−M +S −O	accuse	blame
−M +S −O	bunny	hare
−M +S −O	couch	sofa
−M +S −O	curve	bend
−M +S −O	frighten	scare
−M +S −O	mitten	glove
−M +S −O	mourn	sad
−M +S −O	shine	glow
−M +S −O	snort	sniff
−M +S −O	sorrow	grief
−M +S −O	string	cord
−M +S −O	timid	shy
−M +S −O	devout	pious