Abstract
Performance on three different tasks was compared: naming, lexical decision, and reading (with eye fixation times on a target word measured). We examined the word frequency effect for a common set of words for each task and each subject. Naming and reading (particularly gaze duration) yielded similar frequency effects for the target words. The frequency effect found in lexical decision was greater than that found in naming and in eye fixation times. In all tasks, there was a correlation between the frequency effect and average response time. In general, the results suggest that both the naming and the lexical decision tasks yield data about word recognition processes that are consistent with effects found in eye fixations during silent reading.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant DBS-9121375 and NIH Grant HD26765. K.R. was also supported by a research scientist award from the NIMH (MH01255). Portions of the data were presented at the joint meeting of the Experimental Psychology Society and the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science, Toronto, July 1993.
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Schilling, H.E.H., Rayner, K. & Chumbley, J.I. Comparing naming, lexical decision, and eye fixation times: Word frequency effects and individual differences. Mem Cogn 26, 1270–1281 (1998). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03201199
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03201199