Page |1
PSY 403: FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Questions and Correct Answers/ Latest
Update / Already Graded
The earliest stage of speech production is often referred to as
"selecting a lexical concept" - what exactly happens during this stage?
Ans: -We choose a lemma: a mental representation that
incorporates semantic (meaning) and syntactic (combinatory)
info about the word we want, but not its sound composition;
"word kit"=
-Must decide which word to say before we can actually say it -
map an idea without a specific word and match it to an existing
word
It is argued that different lexical items may compete with each other
when we are selecting them for production. How do we know?
(Remember the picture-word interference test).
Ans: Picture-word inference test: participants were asked to
name the picture (ex: dog) and ignore a word written over it
Neutral word (ex: bed): no effect
Semantically related word (ex: cat): longer RT = COMPETITION
Phonologically related word (ex: doll): shorter RT=
FACILITATION
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
It is thought that speech movements are planned one word at a time,
one syllable at a time, left to right. How do we know it? (think of the
"rabbit experiment")
Ans: Speech movements are planned one syllable at a time,
left to right
Rabbit experiment:
-Main task is to name an animal on screen
-Second task is to press a response button if the name contains
an "r" or a "t"
-Faster RT if screening for "r" because the entire word is not
activated right away, and "r" precedes "t" in "rabbit"
Why are speech errors useful for studying cognitive processes
underlying speech production?
Ans: Speech errors give insight into the cognitive processing
that underlines spoken language mechanisms
Speech errors do not occur randomly - the commonalities tell us
how we planned before something goes wrong
Different errors indicate different phases in speech production
What are semantic substitution errors? What stage/stages of speech
production are they likely to arise from?
Ans: "dog" for "cat"; "chair" for "table"
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
PSY 403: FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Questions and Correct Answers/ Latest
Update / Already Graded
The earliest stage of speech production is often referred to as
"selecting a lexical concept" - what exactly happens during this stage?
Ans: -We choose a lemma: a mental representation that
incorporates semantic (meaning) and syntactic (combinatory)
info about the word we want, but not its sound composition;
"word kit"=
-Must decide which word to say before we can actually say it -
map an idea without a specific word and match it to an existing
word
It is argued that different lexical items may compete with each other
when we are selecting them for production. How do we know?
(Remember the picture-word interference test).
Ans: Picture-word inference test: participants were asked to
name the picture (ex: dog) and ignore a word written over it
Neutral word (ex: bed): no effect
Semantically related word (ex: cat): longer RT = COMPETITION
Phonologically related word (ex: doll): shorter RT=
FACILITATION
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
It is thought that speech movements are planned one word at a time,
one syllable at a time, left to right. How do we know it? (think of the
"rabbit experiment")
Ans: Speech movements are planned one syllable at a time,
left to right
Rabbit experiment:
-Main task is to name an animal on screen
-Second task is to press a response button if the name contains
an "r" or a "t"
-Faster RT if screening for "r" because the entire word is not
activated right away, and "r" precedes "t" in "rabbit"
Why are speech errors useful for studying cognitive processes
underlying speech production?
Ans: Speech errors give insight into the cognitive processing
that underlines spoken language mechanisms
Speech errors do not occur randomly - the commonalities tell us
how we planned before something goes wrong
Different errors indicate different phases in speech production
What are semantic substitution errors? What stage/stages of speech
production are they likely to arise from?
Ans: "dog" for "cat"; "chair" for "table"
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |