Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition, Jan 4, 2018
Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is... more Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is wide variability in older adults' TOT rates, suggesting that individual difference factors contribute to TOT incidence. We investigated the role of affect by examining the relationship between self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms and the frequency of TOTs during a laboratory task. Participants were young, middle-aged and older adults in a population-based sample of adults aged 18-87. Increased anxiety was associated with fewer TOTs for the middle-aged group but more TOTs for the older adult group. There was no relationship between anxiety and TOTs for younger adults and no relationships between depression symptoms and TOT incidence for any age group. We discuss our results in terms of attentional control theory, which provides an explanation of how age may affect the relationship between anxiety and TOTs.
The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, Jan 30, 2016
We tested the claim that age-related increases in knowledge interfere with word retrieval, leadin... more We tested the claim that age-related increases in knowledge interfere with word retrieval, leading to word finding failures. We did this by relating a measure of crystallized intelligence to tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states and picture naming accuracy. Participants were from a large (N = 708), cross-sectional (aged 18-88 years), population-based sample from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience cohort (Cam-CAN; www.cam-can.com). They completed (a) the Spot-the-Word Test (STW), a measure of crystallized intelligence in which participants circled the real word in word/nonword pairs, (b) a TOT-inducing task, and (c) a picture naming task. Age and STW independently predicted TOTs, with higher TOTs for older adults and for participants with lower STW scores. Tests of a moderator model examining interactions between STW and age indicated that STW was a significant negative predictor of TOTs in younger adults, but with increasing age, the effect size gradually approached zero. Res...
ABSTRACT Speaking is susceptible to distraction, illustrated by slowed picture naming in the pres... more ABSTRACT Speaking is susceptible to distraction, illustrated by slowed picture naming in the presence of taboo distractor words. However, other distractors such as phonologically related words speed picture naming. Two experiments explored the simultaneous influences of these competing factors. Participants named target pictures superimposed with taboo, negative, positive, or neutral distractor words, and filler pictures were presented after every target to investigate emotional carryover effects. Distractors were phonologically related or unrelated to the target (Experiment 1) or filler (Experiment 2). Results showed that taboo, and to a lesser extent negative, distractors slowed picture naming relative to neutral and positive distractors, and slowing from taboo distractors persisted into the filler trial. In contrast, phonological overlap between targets and distractors sped target but not filler picture naming, especially when distractors were taboo. These findings suggest that strong emotional words engage attention to influence phonological encoding during speech production, and interfering effects from taboo words are particularly long lasting. Results are interpreted within existing language production theories, using mechanisms that are sensitive to words’ emotional properties and that regulate distractor interference during speech production.
... of older adults' competence, both from the listener and the speaker (eg, Cohen, 1994; Hu... more ... of older adults' competence, both from the listener and the speaker (eg, Cohen, 1994; Hummert, Garstka, Ryan, & Bonnesen, 2004; Kemper & ... et al., 1995; Tun, 1998; Tun & Wingfield, 1999), accelerated speaking rates (eg, Gordon-Salant & Fitzgibbons, 1999; Stine, Wingfield, & ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
Despite considerable research on language production errors involving speech, little research exi... more Despite considerable research on language production errors involving speech, little research exists in the complementary domain of writing. Two experiments investigated the production of homophone substitution errors, which occur when a contextually appropriate word (e.g., beech) is replaced with its homophone (e.g., beach tree). Participants wrote down auditorily presented sentences containing dominant or subordinate homophones. Homophones were preceded by a lexical prime that overlapped in phonology and orthography (e.g., teacher) or only orthography (e.g., headmaster) with the target homophone. Results showed more substitution errors when the context elicited a subordinate homophone than when it elicited a dominant homophone. Furthermore, both types of primes equivalently increased production of homophone errors relative to control words (e.g., lawyer), suggesting that only orthographic overlap between the prime and target was necessary to influence errors. These results are exp...
Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition, Jan 4, 2018
Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is... more Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is wide variability in older adults' TOT rates, suggesting that individual difference factors contribute to TOT incidence. We investigated the role of affect by examining the relationship between self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms and the frequency of TOTs during a laboratory task. Participants were young, middle-aged and older adults in a population-based sample of adults aged 18-87. Increased anxiety was associated with fewer TOTs for the middle-aged group but more TOTs for the older adult group. There was no relationship between anxiety and TOTs for younger adults and no relationships between depression symptoms and TOT incidence for any age group. We discuss our results in terms of attentional control theory, which provides an explanation of how age may affect the relationship between anxiety and TOTs.
The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, Jan 30, 2016
We tested the claim that age-related increases in knowledge interfere with word retrieval, leadin... more We tested the claim that age-related increases in knowledge interfere with word retrieval, leading to word finding failures. We did this by relating a measure of crystallized intelligence to tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states and picture naming accuracy. Participants were from a large (N = 708), cross-sectional (aged 18-88 years), population-based sample from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience cohort (Cam-CAN; www.cam-can.com). They completed (a) the Spot-the-Word Test (STW), a measure of crystallized intelligence in which participants circled the real word in word/nonword pairs, (b) a TOT-inducing task, and (c) a picture naming task. Age and STW independently predicted TOTs, with higher TOTs for older adults and for participants with lower STW scores. Tests of a moderator model examining interactions between STW and age indicated that STW was a significant negative predictor of TOTs in younger adults, but with increasing age, the effect size gradually approached zero. Res...
ABSTRACT Speaking is susceptible to distraction, illustrated by slowed picture naming in the pres... more ABSTRACT Speaking is susceptible to distraction, illustrated by slowed picture naming in the presence of taboo distractor words. However, other distractors such as phonologically related words speed picture naming. Two experiments explored the simultaneous influences of these competing factors. Participants named target pictures superimposed with taboo, negative, positive, or neutral distractor words, and filler pictures were presented after every target to investigate emotional carryover effects. Distractors were phonologically related or unrelated to the target (Experiment 1) or filler (Experiment 2). Results showed that taboo, and to a lesser extent negative, distractors slowed picture naming relative to neutral and positive distractors, and slowing from taboo distractors persisted into the filler trial. In contrast, phonological overlap between targets and distractors sped target but not filler picture naming, especially when distractors were taboo. These findings suggest that strong emotional words engage attention to influence phonological encoding during speech production, and interfering effects from taboo words are particularly long lasting. Results are interpreted within existing language production theories, using mechanisms that are sensitive to words’ emotional properties and that regulate distractor interference during speech production.
... of older adults' competence, both from the listener and the speaker (eg, Cohen, 1994; Hu... more ... of older adults' competence, both from the listener and the speaker (eg, Cohen, 1994; Hummert, Garstka, Ryan, & Bonnesen, 2004; Kemper & ... et al., 1995; Tun, 1998; Tun & Wingfield, 1999), accelerated speaking rates (eg, Gordon-Salant & Fitzgibbons, 1999; Stine, Wingfield, & ...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008
Despite considerable research on language production errors involving speech, little research exi... more Despite considerable research on language production errors involving speech, little research exists in the complementary domain of writing. Two experiments investigated the production of homophone substitution errors, which occur when a contextually appropriate word (e.g., beech) is replaced with its homophone (e.g., beach tree). Participants wrote down auditorily presented sentences containing dominant or subordinate homophones. Homophones were preceded by a lexical prime that overlapped in phonology and orthography (e.g., teacher) or only orthography (e.g., headmaster) with the target homophone. Results showed more substitution errors when the context elicited a subordinate homophone than when it elicited a dominant homophone. Furthermore, both types of primes equivalently increased production of homophone errors relative to control words (e.g., lawyer), suggesting that only orthographic overlap between the prime and target was necessary to influence errors. These results are exp...
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