The effect of iconicity in the mental lexicon of hearing non-signers and proficient signers: evidence of cross-modal priming

Figures & data

Figure 1. BSL signs with different sign-referent associations. The sign TO-BRUSH mimes the action of a person brushing his hair, the sign DEER depicts a deer's antlers and the sign TIME is produced by pointing at an imaginary watch.

Figure 2. The BSL sign CAMERA (left) is an action sign because it represents body motion associated with an object. The sign AEROPLANE (right) is a perceptual sign because it depicts the shape of an object.

Figure 3. Mean response times in ms for target words preceded by related and unrelated BSL sign for hearing non-signers. Bars represent standard error.

Figure 4. Mean response times in ms for target words preceded by related and unrelated BSL sign for hearing proficient signers. Bars represent standard error.

Table 1. Mean response time (standard error in parentheses) and magnitude effect across conditions per group.

	Mean response times per group
Condition	Non-signers		Signers
Action related	583.146 (13.22)		561.451 (12.91)
Action unrelated	594.985 (13.50)		576.818 (13.17)
Difference	11.839		15.184
Perceptual related	589.05 (14.04)		582.86 (13.71)
Perceptual unrelated	607.16 (14.16)		582.965 (13.82)
Difference	18.110		–0.477

Table

	Sign gloss	Iconicity	Related	Un-related	Nonsense1	Nonsense2
Block 1
1	CAMERA	Action	photo	net	fap	knush
2	INJECT	Action	needle	teeth	rop	thafe
3	STIR	Action	spoon	buckle	grourn	slont
4	JUGGLE	Action	clown	deaf	cep	creum
5	KEY	Action	lock	carrot	snurf	rern
6	SLAP	Action	hand	talk	twark	sout
7	MARCH	Action	army	bird	swod	speem
8	PULL	Action	push	pond	lan	stould
9	TIE	Action	neck	forest	bamth	fub
10	CORKSCREW	Action	wine	wheel	stroob	tud
11	VIOLIN	Action	string	face	wof	trewt
12	SKI	Action	snow	fly	ceeb	spresh
13	CANOE	Action	rapids	watch	flince	slome
14	HAMMER	Action	nail	clothes	spirpe	slunt
15	BOX	Perceptual	square	heavy	rilm	fusk
16	RHINO	Perceptual	mud	food	flob	stilch
17	CLOUD	Perceptual	sky	pull	reuth	trebe
18	RAKE	Perceptual	grass	fuel	splon	vapse
19	AEROPLANE	Perceptual	fly	light	biefen	knurke
20	DRESS	Perceptual	girl	hair	wef	ciff
21	MOON	Perceptual	sun	paint	tarbam	crolt
22	HOUSE	Perceptual	garden	smell	cluft	croice
23	AERIAL	Perceptual	tv	tin	pud	sem
24	SICK	Perceptual	ill	break	poy	gern
25	PILLOW	Perceptual	bed	animal	pebe	spom
26	TREE	Perceptual	wood	cards	slart	flane
27	TURTLE	Perceptual	sea	letter	brulk	plail
28	BOTTLE	Perceptual	beer	shirt	hup	clut
Block 2
1	BUTTERFLY	Perceptual	net	photo	knush	fap
2	CROCODILE	Perceptual	teeth	needle	thafe	rop
3	BELT	Perceptual	buckle	spoon	slont	grourn
4	HEARING AID	Perceptual	deaf	clown	creum	cep
5	RABBIT	Perceptual	carrot	lock	rern	snurf
6	GOSSIP	Perceptual	talk	hand	bothe	stave
7	BINOCULARS	Perceptual	bird	army	sout	twark
8	DUCK	Perceptual	pond	push	stould	lan
9	DEER	Perceptual	forest	neck	fub	bamth
10	BICYCLE	Perceptual	wheel	wine	tud	stroob
11	SMILE	Perceptual	face	string	trewt	wof
12	HELICOPTER	Perceptual	fly	snow	spresh	ceeb
13	CLOCK	Perceptual	watch	rapids	slome	flince
14	CLOTHES PEG	Perceptual	clothes	nail	slunt	spirpe
15	EAT	Action	food	square	fusk	rilm
16	WEIGH	Action	heavy	mud	stilch	flob
17	PUSH	Action	pull	sky	pib	gral
18	LIGHTER	Action	fuel	grass	vapse	splon
19	LIGHT BULB	Action	light	fly	trebe	reuth
20	BRUSH	Action	hair	girl	ciff	wef
21	DRAW	Action	paint	sun	crolt	tarbam
22	PERFUME	Action	smell	garden	croice	cluft
23	CAN	Action	tin	tv	sem	pud
24	DROP	Action	break	ill	gern	poy
25	CRAWL	Action	animal	bed	spom	pebe
26	CARDS	Action	cards	wood	flane	slart
27	WRITE	Action	letter	sea	gral	pib
28	IRON	Action	shirt	beer	clut	hup