Orthographic and Semantic Representations: Consolidation and Role in Visual Word Recognition

本研究的目的是增加我们对阅读的认知基础的理解;本研究是对阅读中单词同一性的特定成分的作用的研究的继续。虽然在许多阅读理论中，单词同一性或心理表征的各个方面通常被认为是主要的因果关系，但对这些原则的直接实证测试却令人惊讶地有限。 当一个单词被存储在记忆中时，信息被编码，涉及它的发音（音位学），拼写（正字法）以及所表示的含义/概念（语义学）。 许多阅读理论已经将成功的单词阅读解释为依赖于这种完整和整合的表征（例如，词汇质量假设：Perfetti，2007;三角模型：Plaut等人，1996年）。此外，熟练的阅读并不总是与同样熟练的拼写联系在一起;许多强大的阅读者在拼写方面都有困难。阅读和拼写之间的分离已经被解释为参考单词是如何储存在记忆中的;当表征不完整时，它们的具体化程度可能足以满足阅读（在视觉单词存在的情况下），但不足以满足拼写（在必须生成单词的情况下）。这个论点的一个有趣的延伸是，在个体内部，一些单词将具有准确存储在记忆中的表征（高质量），而其他单词将具有不完整或不准确的表征。从词汇通达的透镜来看，由于内部表征与视觉刺激之间的不匹配，不完整表征的激活可能需要更长的时间。因此，虽然不完整的表征可能足以完成某些阅读任务，但个体仍然需要付出代价。我们最近通过一系列NSERC资助的研究直接测试了这一论点，并发现了支持这一解释的令人信服的证据，特别是关于正字法表示（Martin-Chang et al.，2014; Ouellette等人，2017; Martin-Chang等人，审查中）。 然而，迄今为止，实证研究的重点主要局限于正字法表征及其在高技能成人读者中的作用。这里提出的研究计划扩展了这条调查线，包括评估和直接操作的正字法和语义表示，同时也考虑到不同的熟练程度和年龄的读者。在一个精心控制的实验设计中，通过训练范式操纵单词同一性的语义和拼写方面，并直接测量对阅读速度的任何间接影响。高级混合效应建模计划将培训效果与参与者和项目分开（即，字）的影响。这些研究结果对当前认知和阅读的理论模式有着重要的贡献。

The goal of this research program is to add to our understanding of the cognitive basis of reading; this research represents a continuation of study into the role of specific components of word identity in reading. While facets of word identity, or mental representations, are commonly attributed a leading causal role in much reading theory, direct empirical tests of such tenets are surprisingly limited. When a word is stored in memory, information is encoded pertaining to how it sounds (phonology), how it is spelled (orthography), and the meaning/ concepts represented (semantics). Much reading theory has explained successful word reading as relying upon such intact and integrated representations (e.g., lexical quality hypothesis: Perfetti, 2007; triangle model: Plaut et al., 1996). Further, proficient reading is not always associated with equally proficient spelling; many strong readers struggle with spelling. The dissociation between reading and spelling has been explained with reference to how words are stored in memory; when the representations are incomplete, their degree of specification may suffice for reading (where the visual word is present) but not spelling (where the word must be generated). An intriguing extension of this argument, is that within the individual, some words will have representations that are accurately stored in memory (high quality) while other words will have representations that are incomplete or inaccurate. Viewed through the lens of lexical access, incomplete representations should take longer to activate potentially because of the mismatch between the internal representation and the visual stimuli. Thus, while incomplete representations may suffice for some reading tasks, there should still be a cost to the individual. We recently directly tested this contention through a series of NSERC funded studies, and have found compelling evidence in favor of this explanation with reference to orthographic representations in particular (Martin-Chang et al., 2014; Ouellette et al., 2017; Martin-Chang et al., under review). To date, however, the focus of empirical study has been primarily restricted to orthographic representations and their role in highly skilled adult readers. The program of research proposed here extends this line of inquiry to include evaluation and direct manipulation of both orthographic and semantic representation, while also considering readers of varying proficiency and age. Semantic and orthographic facets of word identity are manipulated through training paradigms within a carefully controlled experimental design, and any consequential effects on reading speed directly measured. Advanced mixed-effect modeling is planned to isolate training effects separate from participant and item (i.e., word) effects. The results of such inquiry stand to contribute significantly to current theoretical models of cognition and reading.