False memories and semantic lexicon arrangement.

A description of semantic lexicon arrangement is a central goal in examinations of language processing. There are a number of ways in which this description has been cast and a host of different mechanisms in place for providing operational descriptions (e.g., feature sharing, category membership, associations, and co-occurrences). We first review two views of the structure of semantic space and then describe an experiment that attempts to adjudicate between these two views. The use of a false memory paradigm provides us with evidence that supports the notion that the semantic lexicon is arranged more by association than by categories or features.

Duke Scholars

Author Roberto Cabeza Psychology & Neuroscience