Corps, R.E. orcid.org/0000-0001-6027-8109 and Meyer, A.S. (Accepted: 2025) Multiple repetitions lead to the long-term elimination of the word frequency effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition. ISSN 0278-7393 (In Press)
Abstract
Current theories of speaking suggest that the structure of the lexicon is flexible and changes with exposure. We tested this claim in two experiments that investigated whether the word frequency effect was moderated by item repetition within and across experimental sessions. Participants named high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) pictures (Experiment 1) and words (Experiment 2) six times. In both experiments, participants were faster to name HF than LF pictures or words, but this effect was eliminated with repetition. Importantly, this word frequency effect was still absent when participants returned up to two weeks later and named old HF and LF pictures, whose names they had produced before, together with new HF and LF pictures, whose names they had not produced. These findings suggest that producing a word multiple times in short succession alters its long-term accessibility, making it easier to produce later.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025, American Psychological Association. This is an author-produced version of a paper accepted for publication in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Word frequency; repetition priming; lexical access |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 Mar 2025 10:35 |
Last Modified: | 05 Mar 2025 10:35 |
Status: | In Press |
Publisher: | American Psychological Association |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1037/xlm0001486 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223854 |