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Semantic interference on a phonological task in illiterate subjects.
Scand J Psychol. 2007 Feb; 48(1):69-74.SJ

Abstract

Previous research suggests that learning an alphabetic written language influences aspects of the auditory-verbal language system. In this study, we examined whether literacy influences the notion of words as phonological units independent of lexical semantics in literate and illiterate subjects. Subjects had to decide which item in a word- or pseudoword pair was phonologically longest. By manipulating the relationship between referent size and phonological length in three word conditions (congruent, neutral, and incongruent) we could examine to what extent subjects focused on form rather than meaning of the stimulus material. Moreover, the pseudoword condition allowed us to examine global phonological awareness independent of lexical semantics. The results showed that literate performed significantly better than illiterate subjects in the neutral and incongruent word conditions as well as in the pseudoword condition. The illiterate group performed least well in the incongruent condition and significantly better in the pseudoword condition compared to the neutral and incongruent word conditions and suggest that performance on phonological word length comparisons is dependent on literacy. In addition, the results show that the illiterate participants are able to perceive and process phonological length, albeit less well than the literate subjects, when no semantic interference is present. In conclusion, the present results confirm and extend the finding that illiterate subjects are biased towards semantic-conceptual-pragmatic types of cognitive processing.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Reis A
Cognitive Neurophysiology Research Group, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. aireis@ualg.pt
Faísca L
No affiliation info available
Mendonça S
No affiliation info available
Ingvar M
No affiliation info available
Petersson KM
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AgedAnalysis of VarianceAwarenessCognitionEducational StatusFemaleHumansLanguagePhoneticsReadingReference ValuesSemanticsTask Performance and Analysis

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

17257371

Citation

Reis, Alexandra, et al. "Semantic Interference On a Phonological Task in Illiterate Subjects." Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, vol. 48, no. 1, 2007, pp. 69-74.
Reis A, Faísca L, Mendonça S, et al. Semantic interference on a phonological task in illiterate subjects. Scand J Psychol. 2007;48(1):69-74.
Reis, A., Faísca, L., Mendonça, S., Ingvar, M., & Petersson, K. M. (2007). Semantic interference on a phonological task in illiterate subjects. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48(1), 69-74.
Reis A, et al. Semantic Interference On a Phonological Task in Illiterate Subjects. Scand J Psychol. 2007;48(1):69-74. PubMed PMID: 17257371.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Semantic interference on a phonological task in illiterate subjects. AU - Reis,Alexandra, AU - Faísca,Luís, AU - Mendonça,Susana, AU - Ingvar,Martin, AU - Petersson,Karl Magnus, PY - 2007/1/30/pubmed PY - 2007/3/17/medline PY - 2007/1/30/entrez SP - 69 EP - 74 JF - Scandinavian journal of psychology JO - Scand J Psychol VL - 48 IS - 1 N2 - Previous research suggests that learning an alphabetic written language influences aspects of the auditory-verbal language system. In this study, we examined whether literacy influences the notion of words as phonological units independent of lexical semantics in literate and illiterate subjects. Subjects had to decide which item in a word- or pseudoword pair was phonologically longest. By manipulating the relationship between referent size and phonological length in three word conditions (congruent, neutral, and incongruent) we could examine to what extent subjects focused on form rather than meaning of the stimulus material. Moreover, the pseudoword condition allowed us to examine global phonological awareness independent of lexical semantics. The results showed that literate performed significantly better than illiterate subjects in the neutral and incongruent word conditions as well as in the pseudoword condition. The illiterate group performed least well in the incongruent condition and significantly better in the pseudoword condition compared to the neutral and incongruent word conditions and suggest that performance on phonological word length comparisons is dependent on literacy. In addition, the results show that the illiterate participants are able to perceive and process phonological length, albeit less well than the literate subjects, when no semantic interference is present. In conclusion, the present results confirm and extend the finding that illiterate subjects are biased towards semantic-conceptual-pragmatic types of cognitive processing. SN - 0036-5564 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/17257371/Semantic_interference_on_a_phonological_task_in_illiterate_subjects_ L2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00544.x DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -