Altvater-Mackensen, N. & Mani, N.
University of Göttingen
Several models of word recognition assume that lexical representations are organized in terms of phonological features. The present study investigates whether lexical activation in adults and toddlers can be modulated by the degree of feature overlap between two words. Using the visual world paradigm, 32 German adults were presented with four images on a screen. Labels of two images, i.e., target and distracter, rhymed but differed in the degree of feature overlap on the initial consonant (1, 2 or 3 feature difference). Similarly, 24 German 24-month-olds were presented with a prime image, followed by simultaneous presentation of a target and distracter image. Again, prime and target labels rhymed but differed in the degree of feature overlap on the initial consonant (2 or 3 features difference). We then measured how fast subjects oriented towards the target upon hearing the target label, and how long they looked at the target image. Results show graded effects of target recognition- the amount of time spent looking at the target varied with increasing feature difference in both adults and toddlers. This suggests that, in the developing as well as the mature lexicon, phonological features, and not just phonemes, influence lexical activation of phonologically similar words.