Activation and inhibition processes in the reader's lexicon

总结 事实上，所有关于熟练阅读的理论都有一个共同的原则，那就是单词识别是一个竞争的过程。也就是说，当第一次看到一个单词时，它的心理表征以及那些拼写相似的单词开始变得活跃。如果这个系统是完美的，随着时间的推移，适当词语的心理表征将抑制不适当词语的心理表征，并成为唯一保持活跃的。 这个建议的目的是继续我的研究过程中，适当的词表示赢得这场比赛。一个主要问题是如何定义“拼写相似的词”。大多数理论认为，当阅读阅读TRAIL（一个字母的替代）时，TRAIT的心理表征会暂时活跃起来，然而，TRIAL这个词呢？铁路等怎么办？我的实验室最近的研究结果表明，最初变得活跃的心理表征比大多数理论所认为的要大得多，这意味着竞争过程也比最初想象的要复杂得多。 检查这些想法的方法包括在计算机屏幕上呈现单个（目标）单词，然后是单词或部分单词“启动”，这些单词被简要地呈现并被掩盖，以便它们不会到达意识。读者在公开回应目标时被计时。它还涉及到提出类似于单词的非单词，并再次在单词/非单词歧视任务中测量lasting。通过更好地理解这一竞争过程，我们希望能够为理解奠定更好的基础：a）成人的正常阅读，B）如何最好地教儿童阅读，c）如何最好地纠正阅读障碍者的阅读困难。

SUMMARY      One principle virtually all theories of skilled reading share is that word identification is a competitive process. That is, when a word is first viewed, the mental representation for it as well as those for similarly spelled words start to become active. If the system is flawless, in time the mental representation of the appropriate word will inhibit those of the inappropriate words and become the only one remaining active.        The purpose of this proposal is to continue my examination of the processes by which the appropriate word representation wins this competition. One major question is how to define "similarly spelled words". Most theories assume that the mental representation for TRAIT would become momentarily active when reading TRAIL (a one-letter substitution), however, what about the word TRIAL. What about RAIL, etc.? Recent results in my lab suggest that the mental representations that initially become active is a much larger set than most theories suggest, implying that the competitive process is also more complicated than originally thought.      The means for examining these ideas involves presenting single (target) words on a computer screen following word or partial word "primes" that are presented briefly and masked so that they don't reach consciousness. Readers are timed while they overtly respond to the targets. It also involves presenting nonwords that resemble words and, again, measuring latencies in a word/nonword discrimination task. By gaining a better understanding of this competitive process, we hope to be able to lay down a better foundation for understanding: a) normal reading in adults, b) how best to teach children to read and c) how best to remediate reading difficulties in reading disabled individuals.