Imageability and Semantic Association in the Representation and Processing of Event Verbs

Overview

Journal Cogn Process

Specialty Psychology

Date 2016 Jan 10

PMID 26747462

Citations 3

Authors

Xu Xu

Chunyan Kang

Taomei Guo

Affiliations

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Abstract

This study examined the relative salience of imageability (the degree to which a word evokes mental imagery) versus semantic association (the density of semantic network in which a word is embedded) in the representation and processing of four types of event verbs: sensory, cognitive, speech, and motor verbs. ERP responses were recorded, while 34 university students performed on a lexical decision task. Analysis focused primarily on amplitude differences across verb conditions within the N400 time window where activities are considered representing meaning activation. Variation in N400 amplitude across four types of verbs was found significantly associated with the level of imageability, but not the level of semantic association. The findings suggest imageability as a more salient factor relative to semantic association in the processing of these verbs. The role of semantic association and the representation of speech verbs are also discussed.

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