Albe o Domínguez Ma ínez and Fe nando Cue os Vega
276
One pa icula wo d di e s om o he s by one o mo e le e s
in he alphabe ical languages. Some wo ds di e in a single le e
such as, in Spanish, casa (house) and cama (bed), o in he o de
o le e s and/o syllables, such as bolo (ski le) and lobo (wol ).
Some imes a single le e becomes a c i ical p ope y o con as
be ween di e en mo phemes, as i happens wi h cas-o (case) and
cas-a (house), o di e en gende s o he same s em mo pheme,
such as in niñ-o (boy) and niñ-a (gi l). Howe e , a minimal
con as ing ea u e can also go e n he di e ence be ween wo ds:
he s ess. This is he case o wo ds such as Ánimo (cou age),
aNImo (I encou age) and aniMÓ (he encou aged).
Pai s o wo ds di e ing only in one speci i c con as i e ea u e,
such as casa and cama a e mo e di i cul o ecognize han hose
di e ing in many ea u es, such as pe o (dog) and cadena (chain).
In he wo las decades many s udies on wo d ecogni ion ha e
ocused on he psychological mechanisms allowing he selec ion
o one lexical ep esen a ion among a a iable numbe o pa ially
simila wo ds (And ews, 1997; G ainge , 1992; Ma ce & Pe ea,
2017; Pe ea & Rosa, 2000). Acco ding o seminal s udies such as
Segui and G ainge (1990) we know ha exci a o y and inhibi o y
p ocesses a e impo an mechanisms o lexical selec ion and
he le e s become de e minan ea u es ha make i possible o
dis inguish wo ds. The goal o his a icle is o decide whe he
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The con as i e alue o lexical s ess in isual wo d ecogni ion:
E idence om Spanish
Albe o Domínguez Ma ínez and Fe nando Cue os Vega
Uni e sidad de La Laguna and Uni e sidad de O iedo
Abs ac Resumen
Backg ound: Many pai s o wo ds in Spanish, in pa icula many e bal
o ms, di e only in he syllable s essed, such as aNImo (I encou age)
and aniMÓ (he encou aged). Consequen ly, wo d s ess may acqui e a
lexical con as i e alue ha has been con i med by Dupoux, Pallie ,
Sebas ian, and Mehle (1997) o Spanish speake s hough no o F ench
speake s in audi o y pe cep ion. Me hod: This s udy con as s he p iming
e ec p oduced by pai s o w i en wo ds ha di e only in hei s ess
pa e n wi h he p iming e ec in epe i ion p iming, s ess only p iming
(wi h no o hog aphic ela ion), and mo phological p iming, in isual
wo d ecogni ion. Resul s: The esul s, using sho and masked p ime
p esen a ion, showed acili a ion o di e en s ess (o hog aphically
iden ical) pai s ( asGÓ/RASgo) compa ed o o ally un ela ed pai s
(do MÍ/RASgo) bu no acili a ion compa ed o o hog aphically un ela ed
(bu s ess ela ed) pai s (PERsa/RASgo). Howe e , iden i y pai s (RASgo-
RASgo) p oduced acili a ion compa ed o bo h o hog aphically un ela ed
condi ions. A long SOA, o hog aphically ela ed (s ess un ela ed) pai s
p oduced signi i can acili a ion, as occu ed wi h mo phologically ela ed
pai s (RASga/RASgo), on he o hog aphically un ela ed wo ds (PERsa/
RASgo). Conclusion: These esul s con i m he ea ly and p elexical
impo ance o wo d s ess o lexical selec ion in Spanish, as is he case
wi h o hog aphic and phonological ea u es.
Keywo ds: Lexical s ess, accen , epe i ion p iming, o m p iming,
mo phological p iming, isual wo d ecogni ion, p elexical p ocessing.
El alo con as i o del acen o léxico en el econocimien o isual
de palab as: e idencia del español. An eceden es: muchos pa es de
palab as en español, en pa icula muchas o mas e bales, di i e en solo
en la sílaba acen uada, al como aNImo y aniMÓ. Así el acen o puede
adqui i un alo con as i o que ue con i mado po Dupoux, Pallie ,
Sebas ian y Mehle (1997) en español, pe o no en ancés, en pe cepción
audi i a. Mé odo: es e es udio con as a el e ec o de p imado en pa es
de palab as que di i e en en su pa ón de acen uación con el e ec o de
epe ición, el p imado solo de acen o (sin elación o og á i ca) y el p imado
mo ológico en econocimien o isual de palab as. Resul ados: usando
p iming enmasca ado se ob u o acili ación pa a los pa es con di e en e
acen o ( asGÓ/RASgo) compa ando con los pa es sin elación (do MÍ/
RASgo), pe o no se p odujo compa ando con los no elacionados de
igual acen o (PERsa/RASgo). Sin emba go, los pa es idén icos (RASgo-
RASgo) p oduje on acili ación compa ando con ambas condiciones
o og á i camen e elacionadas. Con un SOA la go los pa es con di e en e
acen o (o og á i camen e iguales ) p oduje on una acili ación signi i ca i a,
como ocu ió con los pa es elacionados mo ológicos (RASga/RASgo),
sob e los pa es o og á i camen e di e en es (PERsa/RASgo). Conclusión:
es os esul ados con i man la impo ancia del p ocesamien o emp ano y
p eléxico del acen o pa a la selección léxica en español, como ocu e con
las ca ac e ís icas o og á i cas y onológicas de las palab as.
Palab as cla e: acen o léxico, p imado de epe ición, p imado o mal,
p imado mo ológico, econocimien o isual de palab as, p ocesamien o
p eléxico.
Psico hema 2018, Vol. 30, No. 3, 276-282
doi: 10.7334/psico hema2018.30
Recei ed: Janua y 30, 2018 • Accep ed: May 16, 2018
Co esponding au ho : Albe o Domínguez Ma ínez
Facul ad de Psicología
Uni e sidad de La Laguna
38205 Tene i e (Spain)
e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
The con as i e alue o lexical s ess in isual wo d ecogni ion: E idence om Spanish
277
o no , in eading in Spanish, s ess plays a simila ole in lexical
access as le e s do. In ac , many wo ds in Spanish can only be
di e en ia ed by he syllable ha is s essed (e.g. BEbe [he/she
d inks] and beBÉ [baby]).
Mos s udies o lexical s ess ha e been ca ied ou on he
pe cep ion o speech (al hough hings and changing, e.g., Sulpizio,
Spinelli, & Bu ani, 2015) and ha e p og essed in wo di ec ions
(Cu le , 1986). Lexical s ess heo ies a e cen e ed on he
con ibu ion o s ess o lexical access as a p elexical cue, while
me ical s ess heo ies ocus on he p oblem o lis ene use o
s ong and weak syllable al e na ion o iden i y wo d bounda ies
in speech (Cu le , 1986; Cu le & Cli on, 1985). English s ess
is lexical, associa ed wi h each wo d and can all on any syllable
o he wo d. In F ench, in con as , he s ess is no a iable and
always alls on he i nal syllable (A ciuli & Slowiaczek, 2007).
The lexical con as i e unc ion o English s ess is, howe e ,
es ic ed o a small g oup o pai s o wo ds. The majo i y o
he mos commonly used wo ds (be ween 80% and 90%) ha e
a pa e n o s ong-weak (Sw) syllables. The emaining wo ds,
weak-s ong (Ws), a e gene ally e bs. When s ess is he only
phonological cue ha dis inguishes a pai o wo ds, one o hem,
he Sw wo d, is usually a noun and he Ws wo d a e b (Cu le
& Ca e , 1987). Membe s o he same g amma ical ca ego y a e
no usually con as ed by he s ess. Only his minimal ea u e
con as s some excep ions, such as FORbea and o BEAR.
The con as i e ole o Spanish s ess
Spanish s ess may all on any o he las h ee syllables o a
wo d. The mos equen pa e n is penul s ess on owel- i nal wo ds
(CAsa “house”). Consonan - i nal wo ds s essed on he i nal syllable
a e conside ed egula s (ca TEL “pos e ”) while an epenul s ess is
always i egula (PÍca o “ illainous”; Pensado, 1999). Acco ding
o Mo ales-F on (2014), abou 64% o he Spanish wo ds ha e he
s ess on he penul syllable, 28% on he las syllable and only 8%
on he an epenul syllable. Eddin ong (2000) ca ied ou a s ess
classi i ca ion o he 4829 mos equen polysyllabic wo ds selec ed
om he Alameda and Cue os equency dic iona y o Spanish
(1995) suppo ing his linguis ic dis inc ion: om he o al o wo ds
ending in a owel, 178 a e s essed on he i nal syllable, 2494 on he
penul syllable, and 178 on he an epenul syllable; om he o al o
consonan - i nal wo ds (excep plu al wo ds ending in he su i x –s)
778 a e s essed on he i nal syllable, 176 on he penul syllable and
2 on he an epenul syllable. This lexical dis ibu ion o s ess shows
a mo e complex pano ama han he simply p edominan egula i y
o he Sw wo ds in English. Howe e , some English au ho s ha e
de eloped models ha conside s ess as an impo an cue o sea ch
in he lexicon, e en in isual wo d ecogni ion. The model o Black
and Byng (1986) p edic s ha sea ch o a wo d in he lexicon begins
wi h hose ha ing he mos egula s ess pa e n. Gu ié ez, Palma,
and San iago (1998) ied o e i y his p edic ion in Spanish using
egula wo ds (Sw) and i egula wo ds (Ws) bu only he numbe
o e o s and no he eac ion imes seems o a o he Black and
Byng’s model.
Pe haps he mos impo an di e ence be ween Spanish and
English is he capaci y o Spanish s ess o dis inguish be ween
wo ds. Each wo d in Spanish has a de i ned and in a iable s ess
pa e n. Thus s ess is, some imes, he only ea u e ha esol es
he ambigui y de i ed om he exis ence o di e en wo ds made
up o he same phoneme s ings (Ánimo, aNImo, aniMÓ [ he
cou age, I encou age, he encou aged]). In w i en language his
ambigui y is esol ed by he p esence o absence o a punc ua ion
ma k: he accen (´), indica ing he syllable ecei ing he s ess.
The accen ma ks hose s ess pa e ns which, in Spanish, a e mos
i egula (Ánimo, animÓ) and is no used o egula pa e ns, such
as aNImo, s essed on he penul syllable o ca TEL, s essed on
he i nal syllable. In speech pe cep ion, Dupoux, Pallie , Sebas ian,
and Mehle (1997) demons a ed he capaci y o Spanish lis ene s
o dis inguish, wi h an ABX pa adigm, be ween pseudowo ds
s essed on di e en syllables (A/ BOpelo, B/ boPElo, X) boPElo).
F ench lis ene s, howe e , we e unable o dis inguish be ween
he s imuli. Also, So o, Cu le , and Sebas ián (2001) ound some
esul s in a o o s ess as a p e-lexical cue in Spanish. Gu ié ez-
Palma and Palma-Reyes (2008) p imed a wo d wi h co ec ly and
inco ec ly s essed wo ds (e.g., écla-TECLA s. eclá-TECLA)
a sho and long SOAs (33, 66, 100, and 143 ms) ounding only
acili a ion a he longes SOA and inhibi ion a he incong uen
p iming also a 100 and 143 ms SOA. They sugges ha s ess
a ec s lexical access a a la e s age o lexical access p ocessing.
Agains his la e in l uence o he accen ma ks in Spanish, Pe ea,
Abu Mallouh, Mohamed, Khali a and Ca ei as (2018) i nd a e y
ea ly in l uence o he diac i ic ma ks ha di e en ia e A abic
le e s. In a masked p iming expe imen , wi h a p ime du a ion
o 50 ms., hey ound an o hog aphic p iming e ec which was
independen o whe he he le e changed in i s o m o in he
numbe and posi ion o i s diac i ical ma ks wi h espec o he
a ge . Also, bo h, o m o hog aphic p iming and diac i ic p iming
p oduced simila and longe imes han epe i ion p iming. The
pa icipan s in his expe imen we e child en, bu p e iously hey
had been ob ained wi h adul s (Pe ea, Abu Mallouh, Mohamed,
Khali a and Ca ei as, 2016).
The aim o he p esen s udy is o con as he p iming e ec s
p oduced by pai s o w i en wo ds ha di e only in hei s ess
pa e n, wi h he p iming e ec in se e al o he expe imen al
manipula ions such as epe i ion p iming, s ess only p iming,
(wi hou o hog aphic ela ion) and mo phological p iming, in
isual wo d ecogni ion. De e ing o he p e ious desc ibed s udy
o Gu ié ez-Palma and Palma-Reyes (2008) all p imes and a ge s
we e legal and exis ing wo ds in Spanish. The gene al aim, gi en
he con as i e ole o s ess in Spanish, is o know whe he o no
s ess is a ele an ea u e o ea ly and p e-lexical p ocessing o he
wo d, as seems o occu wi h o he o hog aphic and phonological
ea u es and also, wi h diac i ical poin s in A abic.
Expe imen 1
This expe imen a emp s o compa e di e en s ess epe i ion
p iming (p ime and a ge wi h o al o hog aphic o e lap bu
di e en s ess pa e n [ asGÓ/RASgo, he o e- I ea o ea u e])
wi h epe i ion p iming (RASgo/RASgo I ea /I ea ). This
con as aims o disco e whe he s ess disag eemen (wi h o al
o hog aphic o e lap) is able o modi y he acili a ion p oduced
by he o al o hog aphic o e lap. Repe i ion p iming p oduces
consis en acili a ion acco ding o many expe imen al s udies
(see he seminal a icles o Fo bach, S anne s, & Hochhaus, 1974;
Fo s e & Da is, 1984; Pe ea & Rosa, 2000; and Sca bo ough,
Co ese, & Sca bo ough, 1977, o a compa ison o epe i ion and
o m p iming). Di e en s ess epe i ion p iming and epe i ion
p iming will be compa ed wi h o hog aphically un ela ed bu
s ess ela ed p iming (PERsa/RASgo, Pe sian/I ea o ea u e).
Albe o Domínguez Ma ínez and Fe nando Cue os Vega
278
Sho exposi ion o he p ime wo d (32 ms.), p eceded by
a mask will p e en conscious iden i i ca ion o he wo d and,
he e o e, p edic i e biases. This sho SOA may also p o ide a
pic u e o ea ly s ages in lexical p ocessing. Ou hypo hesis is
ha he amoun o acili a ion will be as g ea as he numbe o
ea u es sha ed by p ime and a ge . Repe i ion pai s ha e pe ec
o hog aphic and s ess ma ching. Howe e , di e en s ess pai s
ma ch only o hog aphically and he e o e, i s ess is p ocessed
ea ly, less acili a ion is expec ed.
Me hod
Pa icipan s
Thi y psychology unde g adua es a La Laguna Uni e si y,
Spain, pa icipa ed in he expe imen o cou se c edi . All we e
Spanish na i e speake s wi h no mal o co ec ed o no mal ision.
Ins umen s
The s imuli we e p esen ed in he cen e o he sc een o a PC
wi h a 70 Hz e esh a e. The le e s, in cou ie on , appea ed as
whi e cha ac e s on a da k backg ound. The p imes we e p esen ed
in uppe -case le e s while he a ge s appea ed in lowe case.
Each cha ac e co e ed app oxima ely 0.38” o isual angle om
a dis ance o 60 cm. These display cha ac e is ics we e main ained
in all expe imen s. Six y a ge s imuli we e each pai ed wi h
an o hog aphically iden ical bu di e en s ess wo d ( asGÓ/
RASgo), he same wo d (RASgo/RASgo) and an o hog aphically
un ela ed wo d (PERsa/RASgo). P ime and a ge had he same
syllabic s uc u e and leng h in numbe o le e s. Twen y p ime-
a ge pai s we e p esen ed in each o he h ee condi ions o each
pa icipan in such a way ha hey saw each p ime and a ge once
du ing he expe imen . The p ime wo ds had a lowe lexical p in ed
equency han he a ge . This equency ela ion was cons ained
pai by pai . A lis o i lle s, wo d-wo d un ela ed pai s and wo d-
nonwo d ela ed and un ela ed pai s, we e in oduced o educe he
pe cen age o o hog aphically ela ed wo d-wo d pai s o 44 %.
The pe cen age o ela ed wo d-nonwo d pai s was 17 %. Nine een
expe imen al a ge s we e wo ds o ou le e s and o y-one we e
i e le e s long. Some i lle s we e ou , i e, six o se en le e s
long o app oxima e he cha ac e is ics o he s imuli o no mal
Spanish dis ibu ion. All a ge s we e g amma ically ambiguous as
hey could be ca ego ized ei he as e bs o as nouns. The p imes
o he o hog aphic ca ego y we e unambiguous e bal o ms,
whe eas o epe i ion pai s hey we e, ob iously, ambiguous. The
ca ego y o un ela ed pai s was made up o a andom selec ion o
g amma ically ambiguous and non-ambiguous lexical i ems.
P ocedu e
The masking p ocedu e was simila o ha used by Fo s e and
Da is (1984) and by G ainge , Colé and Segui (1991). The sequence
o e en s ha occu ed in each ial was: i s ly, a mask o hash
ma ks (#), ha exac ly co e ed he numbe o spaces o he p ime
s imulus was p esen ed o 500 ms. Second, he p ime was exposed
in he same place o 32 ms. and was immedia ely ollowed by he
a ge s imulus, which emained on he sc een un il pa icipan
esponse. Pa icipan s we e no in o med o he p ime p esence.
They we e old ha one s imulus would appea in he cen e o he
sc een and hei ask consis ed o p essing a key as apidly and as
accu a ely as possible, “YES” i a wo d and “NO” i a nonwo d
appea ed. The compu e eco ded esponse keys and la encies.
Da a analysis
A main ac o , Type o P iming, wi h h ee le els was in oduced:
o hog aphic p iming, epe i ion and un ela ed p iming.
Resul s
Mean eac ion imes (RTs) o co ec esponses in each
condi ion excluding e o s (2.78 %) a e p esen ed in Table 1.
ANOVAs we e ca ied ou by pa icipan s (F1) and by i ems
(F2). La encies exceeding 1200 ms. o no eaching 200 ms. we e
excluded om he analysis (2.94%) o he da a). These wo cu -o
poin s we e main ained in all he expe imen s.
The ac o Type o P iming p oduced signi i can e ec s on he
RTs. (F1(2,58)=12.82, p<0.001, Mse=1169.11; F2(2,118)=12.96,
p<0.001) as a esul o he sho e imes o epe i ion p iming.
Sepa a e ANOVAs we e ca ied ou o es ablish pai ed compa isons
be ween condi ions. The 39 ms di e ence be ween epe i ion
p iming and di e en s ess p iming was s a is ically signi i can
(F1(1,29)=19.13, p<0.001, Mse=1141.30; F2(1,59)=17.12, p<0.001,
Mse=2426,80). Bo h ypes o pai s o e lap in all le e s. The only
di e ence is ha he o hog aphic pai s we e s essed on a di e en
syllable. Also, epe i ion pai s p oduced a signi i can di e ence
o 40 ms. wi h he un ela ed pai s (F1(1,29)=21.03, p<0.001,
Mse=1099.62; F2(1,59)=23.19, p<0.001, Mse=2629,90) which do
no sha e any le e in he same posi ion bu we e s essed on he
same syllable. Howe e , di e en s ess p iming did no p oduce
any signi i can e ec on he un ela ed pai s (F1(1,29)=0.01,
p=0.90, Mse=1266.39; F2(1,59)=0.62, p<0.435, Mse=3000,31).
Expe imen 2
The null acili a ion o he di e en s ess pai s in Expe imen
1 was in e p e ed as he incapaci y o wo wo ds, al hough sha ing
Table 1
Mean eac ion imes (and pe cen age o e o s) in expe imen 1
Type o p iming Di e ences
Di e en S ess
asGÓ/RASgo
Repe i ion
RASgo/RASgo
Un ela ed
PERsa/RASgo D1 D2 D3
695
(3.33)
656
(1.33)
696
(3.66) 14039
No e: D1 is he di e ence be ween Di e en S ess and Un ela ed pai s, D2 is he di e ence be ween Repe i ion and Un ela ed pai s and D3 is he di e ence be ween Di e en S ess and
Repe i ion pai s
The con as i e alue o lexical s ess in isual wo d ecogni ion: E idence om Spanish
279
all le e s, o p oduce acili a ion because o non-ma ching in hei
s ess pa e n ( asGÓ/RASgo). The 32 ms o p ime exposi ion was
su i cien o p oduce o hog aphic p ocessing as was sugges ed
by he e ec i eness o he epe i ion p iming. I o hog aphic
and s ess compu a ion occu independen ly du ing he ea ly
milliseconds o p ocessing, i is possible o in e p e he null
e ec o he o hog aphic pai s as being due o he ac ha he
non- ela ed i ems did no cons i u e an adequa e base line. In ac ,
he o hog aphically un ela ed i ems used in Expe imen 1, such
as PERsa/RASgo, a e s ess ela ed wo ds because he s ess alls
on he penul syllable in bo h wo ds. I is no unlikely, hen, ha
his o hog aphically un ela ed condi ion was p oducing an s ess
acili a ion. Expe imen 2 a emp s o cla i y his ques ion by
in oducing a mo e adequa e un ela ed condi ion. O hog aphically
and s ess un ela ed pai s, such as do MÍ/RASgo, we e in oduced
o compa e wi h he di e en s ess epe i ion wo ds ( asGÓ/
RASgo) and o hog aphically un ela ed wo ds (PERsa/RASgo)
used in he p e ious expe imen s. I was expec ed ha , main aining
he 32 ms. SOA o expe imen 1, asGÓ/RASgo would p oduce
some acili a ion wi h espec o he new base line because o he
o hog aphic o e lapping. Also, he o hog aphically un ela ed
pai s o expe imen 1 (PERsa/RASgo) would p oduce acili a ion
on he eally un ela ed pai s because o he s ess ela ionship.
Me hod
Pa icipan s
Thi y psychology unde g adua es a La Laguna Uni e si y, in
Spain, pa icipa ed in he expe imen o cou se c edi . All we e
Spanish na i e speake s wi h no mal o co ec ed o no mal ision.
Ins umen s
The p imes o he mo phological ca ego y o expe imen 1
we e emo ed and eplaced by ano he e bal o m ha changes
he posi ion o he s ess o he i nal syllable. I he a ge was he
i s pe son o he p esen RASgo, he p ime was he hi d pe son
o he pas do MÍ. All he o he s imuli emained as in he i s and
second expe imen . The pe cen age o o hog aphically ela ed
wo d-wo d pai s was 22 % and o wo d-nonwo d pai s was 17%.
P ocedu e
The same as in expe imen 1 (SOA o 32 ms.)
Da a analysis
A main ac o , Type o P iming, wi h h ee le els was
in oduced: di e en s ess epe i ion p iming ( asGÓ/RASgo),
o hog aphically un ela ed p iming (PERsa/RASgo) and o ally
un ela ed p iming (do MÍ/RASgo).
Resul s
Mean eac ion imes (RTs) o co ec esponses in each
condi ion excluding e o s (1.9 %) a e p esen ed in Table 3.
ANOVAs we e ca ied ou by pa icipan s (F1) and by i ems
(F2). La encies exceeding 1200 ms. o no eaching 200 ms. we e
excluded om he analysis (2.5 % o he da a).
The main ac o , Type o P iming, p oduced signi i can
e ec s by pa icipan s (F1(2,58)=4.79, p<0.05, Mse=803.78;
F2(2,118)=2.74, p=0.06) as a esul o he acili a ion o s ess
di e en ela ed a ge s and o hog aphically un ela ed a ge s
on he o ally un ela ed a ge s. Sepa a e ANOVAs we e ca ied
ou o es ablish pai ed compa isons be ween condi ions. The
20 ms di e ence be ween s ess di e en epe i ion p iming
and he o ally un ela ed condi ion was s a is ically signi i can
by pa icipan s and i ems (F1(1,29)=8.01, p<0.01, Mse=717.97;
F2(1,59)=4.62, p<0.05, Mse=1747,83). Also he o hog aphically
un ela ed pai s p oduced a simila signi i can di e ence o
20 ms. wi h he o ally un ela ed pai s (F1(1,29)=7.93, p<0.01,
Mse=729.92; F2(1,59)=4.33, p<0.05, Mse=2867,35). Howe e , no
di e ence be ween s ess di e en ela ed and o hog aphically
un ela ed pai s was ob ained, as occu ed in Expe imen 1.
The esul s o Expe imen 1 we e eplica ed in his expe imen
because no di e ences we e ound be ween he asGÓ/RASgo
pai s and PERsa/RASgo pai s. Bo h condi ions p oduced in
Expe imen 2 signi i can di e ences wi h he o ally un ela ed
pai s (do MÍ/RASgo). Howe e , he acili a ion o hese wo ypes
o pai s was p oduced by di e en ac o s. S ess di e en ela ed
pai s p oduced acili a ion because o he o hog aphic o e lap,
whe eas o hog aphically un ela ed pai s p oduced acili a ion
because o s ess o e lap.
Expe imen 3
The e emains one mo e con as o be ca ied ou . The di e en
s ess epe i ion condi ion in expe imen s 1 and 2 is also a condi ion
o mo phologically ela ed wo ds. P imes and a ge s such as
asGÓ and RASgo a e in l ec ions o he same e bal s em asg-:
asGÓ is he hi d pe son o he pas o m o he e b, whe eas
RASgo is he i s pe son o he p esen . Some s udies ha e shown
acili a ion o p ime and a ge ha di e only in hei gende o
numbe o ms (Al a ez, U u ia, Dominguez & Sanchez-Casas,
2011; Dominguez, Segui & Cue os, 2002; Dominguez, De Vega
& Ba be , 2004; D ews & Zwi se lood, 1995; see also Amen a &
C epaldi, 2012, o a e ision o mo phological p ocessing). The
Table 2
Mean eac ion imes (and pe cen age o e o s) in Expe imen 2
Type o p iming Di e ences
Di e en S ess
asGÓ/RASgo
O h.Un ela ed
PERsa/RASgo
To ally Un ela ed
do MÍ/RASgo D1 D2 D3
650
(2.33)
650
(3.00)
670
(2.00) 20 20 0
No e: D1 is he di e ence be ween Di e en S ess and To ally Un ela ed pai s, D2 is he di e ence be ween O hog aphically Un ela ed and To ally Un ela ed pai s and D3 is he di e ence
be ween Di e en S ess and O hog aphically Un ela ed pai s
Albe o Domínguez Ma ínez and Fe nando Cue os Vega
280
hi d expe imen , hen, ocuses on he compa ison o di e en
s ess epe i ion p iming wi h mo phological p iming while using
a longe SOA o 224 ms. The pu pose o his expe imen is o
con as s ess di e en pai s and he un ela ed pai s o expe imen
1 (PERsa-RASgo) a a longe SOA. Gi en he mo phological
and seman ic ela ion be ween wo ds o his ca ego y ( asGÓ-
RASgo), we expec eliable acili a ion o he o hog aphically
un ela ed pai s (s ess ela ed) a 224 ms. SOA. This acili a ion,
i p oduced, will be compa ed wi h mo phological p iming using
wo ds sha ing he s em o he e b and changing hei su i x, in
his case, he las le e : RASg-a/RASg-o.
Me hod
Pa icipan s
Thi y psychology unde g adua es a La Laguna Uni e si y,
in Spain, pa icipa ed in he expe imen o cou se c edi . All
we e Spanish na i e speake s wi h no mal o co ec ed o no mal
ision.
Ins umen s
The p imes o he epe i ion ca ego y o he p e ious expe imen
we e emo ed and eplaced by ano he e bal o m ha changes
he su i x o pe son o ob ain he mo phological p iming ca ego y.
I he a ge was he i s pe son o he p esen RASgo, he p ime
was he hi d pe son o he p esen RASga. All he o he s imuli
emained as in expe imen 1. The pe cen age o o hog aphically
ela ed and un ela ed pai s o s imuli was simila o expe imen 1.
P ocedu e
The same as he p e ious expe imen , excep o he ime o
exposi ion o he p ime, which, in his expe imen was o 224 ms.
Da a analysis
A main ac o , Type o P iming wi h h ee le els was
in oduced: di e en s ess epe i ion p iming ( asGÓ/RASgo),
mo phological p iming (RASga/RASgo) and un ela ed p iming
(PERsa/RASgo).
Resul s
Mean eac ion imes (RTs) o co ec esponses in each
condi ion excluding e o s (3.56 %) a e p esen ed in Table 2.
ANOVAs we e ca ied ou by pa icipan s (F1) and by i ems
(F2). La encies exceeding 1200 ms. o no eaching 200 ms. we e
excluded om he analysis (7,44 % o he da a).
The main ac o , Type o p iming, p oduced signi i can e ec s
on RTs (F1(2,58)=9.96, p<0.001, Mse=2255.64; F2(2,118)=16.80,
p<0.001) as a esul o he acili a ion o di e en s ess
o hog aphically ela ed a ge s and mo phologically ela ed
a ge s on he un ela ed a ge s. Sepa a e ANOVAs we e ca ied
ou o es ablish pai ed compa isons be ween condi ions. The 35
ms di e ence be ween di e en s ess p iming and he un ela ed
condi ion we e s a is ically signi i can (F1(1,29)=8.04, p<0.01,
Mse=2190.70; F2(1,59)=16.75, p<0.001, Mse=2804,65). Also he
mo phological pai s p oduced a signi i can di e ence o 55 ms.
wi h he un ela ed pai s (F1(1,29)=26.52, p<0.001, Mse=1654.44;
F2(1,59)=28.36, p<0.001, Mse=3335,35). Howe e , he di e ence
be ween di e en s ess p iming and mo phological p iming (20
ms.) did no each signi i can acili a ion (F1(1,29)=2.02, p=0.166,
Mse=2921.76; F2(1,59)=2.97, p=0.09, Mse=2777,72).
Expe imen 1 used a e y sho p ime exposi ion o 32 ms.,
which was seen o be insu i cien o in l uence mo phologically he
a ge in he s ess di e en pai s. The 224 ms p ime exposi ion
in his expe imen did allow mo phological p ocessing. In his
espec , he 55 ms. acili a ion e ec o mo phological ela i es
(RASga/RASgo) suppo s his assump ion o he need o longe
p ime exposi ion o allow mo phological p ocessing.
Discussion
A se ies o h ee expe imen s was ca ied ou o s udy he
con as i e alue o he s ess and accen ma ks in Spanish. The
esul s, wi h he masked p iming p ocedu e, allow suppo ing
an ea ly p ocessing o lexical s ess. Expe imen 1 showed ha
epea ing a wo d as p ime and a ge is no su i cien o ob ain
acili a ion, i he s ess pa e n is no iden ical in bo h wo ds.
I he s ess alls on di e en syllables ( asGÓ-RASgo), no
acili a ion is ob ained wi h espec o he un ela ed condi ion.
In con as , he same s ess pa e n ( epe i ion p iming) p oduces
acili a ion (RASgo-RAS-go). The absence o acili a ion wi h
a e y sho SOA (32 ms.) o s ess di e en pai s could be
in e p e ed as he balance be ween acili a ion due o o hog aphic
o e lap and inhibi ion due o he lack o s ess ag eemen leading
o compe ing lexical ep esen a ions. Expe imen 1 allows us o
in e he impo ance o s ess in lexical access, based on he null
acili a ion o di e en s ess o hog aphically iden ical pai s
in ela ion o epe i ion p iming. Howe e , a e i i ca ion o his
e ec was necessa y a sho SOA. Expe imen 2 in oduced a new
con ol condi ion wi hou o hog aphic o s ess ela ion (do MÍ-
Table 3
Mean eac ion imes (and pe cen age o e o s) in Expe imen 3
Type o p iming Di e ences
Di e en S ess
asGÓ/RASgo
Mo phological
RASga/RASgo
Un ela ed
PERsa/RASgo D1 D2 D3
722
(2.99)
702
(2.55)
757
(5.16) 35 55 20
No e: D1 is he di e ence be ween Di e en S ess and Un ela ed pai s, D2 is he di e ence be ween Mo phological and Un ela ed pai s and D3 is he di e ence be ween Di e en S ess
and Mo phological pai s

The con as i e alue o lexical s ess in isual wo d ecogni ion: E idence om Spanish
281
RASgo). The goal was o compa e his condi ion wi h he con ol
condi ion o he p e ious expe imen (PERsa-RASgo) o ob ain, as
in ac occu ed, a ne acili a ion due only o s ess o e lap wi hou
o hog aphic ela ion. The o hog aphic condi ion ( asGÓ-RASgo)
also p oduced signi i can acili a ion on he o ally un ela ed pai s
(do MÍ-RASgo). S ess compu a ion and o hog aphic p ocessing
seem o wo k in a pa allel and independen way because
o hog aphic p iming wi hou s ess o e lap p oduced acili a ion
bu s ess p iming wi hou o hog aphic ela ion also p oduced
simila acili a ion.
Because p ime and a ge in he di e en s ess epe i ion condi ion
a e also mo phological ela i es, Expe imen 3 used a longe ime
window (SOA 224 ms.) o eco e he mo pho-seman ic p ocessing.
Pai s such as asGÓ-RASgo a e in l ec ional o ms o he same
e bal s em. I was expec ed ha he ea ly inhibi ion p oduced by a
di e en s ess pa e n would be subs i u ed by la e mo phological
and seman ic acili a ion. The esul s con i med he ini ial p edic ion.
The o hog aphic pai s p oduced, in his expe imen , signi i can
acili a ion. E en hough his acili a ion was 20 ms. smalle han ha
ob ained o mo phological pai s (RASga-RASgo), he di e ence was
no s a is ically signi i can and migh poin o a lesse impo ance o
le e s in lexical disc imina ion as compa ed o s ess.
In summa y, s ess could be conside ed a p elexical elemen
ha he isual wo d ecogni ion sys em uses o a i e a he lexicon
as also Gu ié ez-Palma and Palma-Reyes (2008) poin -ou , bu in
con as wi h hei esul s, he con as i e alue o s ess in ou
expe imen s has a e y ea ly e ec , pe haps due o he illegal
pa e n o he o hog aphic ma ks used in he p imes o hei
expe imen s, ha slow he ecogni ion o he a ge . Ou esul s
a e in ag eemen wi h hose o Pe ea e al. (2016, 2018) suppo ing
ea ly p ocessing o diac i ical ma ks in A abic language. These
diac i ical ma ks a e poin s si ua ed, in di e en numbe and
posi ion, on he le e s ha change he lexical alue o he wo d.
Many A abic wo ds di e physically only in he p esence and/o
loca ion o he diac i ical poin s. The accen in Spanish seems o
ul i ll his ea ly con as i e unc ion.
I phonemes, syllables o le e s a e conside ed p elexical uni s
in ecognizing a wo d, i is logical ha lexical s ess is also a
p elexical uni ha es ic s, by means o ecogni ion o he s essed
syllable, he lexical i eld o sea ch o he amoun o ac i a ed
uni s in he lexicon. This lexical unc ion o s ess appea s o be
especially ac i e in Spanish, a language which, in con as wi h
English, uses s ess on many occasions as he minimal ea u e
ha dis inguishes pai s o wo ds wi hin he same g amma ical
ca ego y o be ween ca ego ies (So o, Cu le , & Sebas ián, 2001).
Spanish e bs cons i u e a special g oup o wo ds ha use s ess o
dis inguish some o hei o ms.
Two poin s, a leas , emain un esol ed. Fi s ly, wi h e e ence
o he na u e o s ess p ocessing, we do no know whe he his
is a isual o a phonological ope a ion du ing eading. Spanish
s ess is o hog aphically ma ked wi h an accen (´) on he owel
o he s essed syllable and is go e ned by speci i c ules amilia
o eade s and w i e s. The p esence o absence o he accen
and he consonan al o ocalic end o he wo ds indica es which
is he s essed syllable o w i en wo ds. These ules allow he
eade o access co ec ly he s ess pa e n o known o unknown
wo ds. The e o e s ess, a p osodic and phonological cue, is
in e ed in eading using only isual and p elexical in o ma ion.
Ou da a do no allow o know whe he o no his isual ea u e
is ans o med in o a phonological pa e n ha pe mi s lexical
ac i a ion o sea ch o occu in a phonological lexicon, as may
occu wi h le e s in o phonemes using g apheme o phoneme
ules (Col hea , 1978).
The second p oblem is mo e echnical bu no less impo an .
The a ge s used in he expe imen s a e g amma ically ambiguous.
RASgo as an indi idual wo d is a noun o a e bal o m ( i s pe son
p esen o he e b asGAR). This aspec migh be conside ed a
p oblem because some linguis s conside ha s ess assignmen is
go e ned by di e en ules o e bs and nouns (Roca, 1988), bu
his opinion is no ee o con o e sy (Edding on, 2000; Ha is,
1989). Ano he ques ion ha migh be impo an in ou s imuli
is ha some o hese a e no only g amma ically ambiguous bu
also seman ically ambiguous. RASgo means ea u e as a noun
and o ea as a e b. Some o he a ge s a e only g amma ically
ambiguous. Fo example, RObo as a e b, means o s eal and, as a
noun, means obbe y. This is a e y in e es ing aspec in ela ion
o s ess assignmen ha should be conside ed o u u e esea ch
bu i was no , o he momen , he ocus o his esea ch.
Essen ially, ou conclusion is ha he s ess pa e n o a wo d is
p elexically compu ed. S ess seems o ha e, in Spanish, a c ucial
unc ion in compa ison o o he languages, such as English,
because he numbe o pai s o wo ds di e ing only in his
cha ac e is ic is abundan . English s ess does no ha e, pe haps,
his lexical unc ion bu i has, a he , a me ical u ili y o de i ne
he bounda ies o wo ds in speech pe cep ion, such as has been
a ibu ed by Cu le . I is no likely, hen, in English, o ob ain a
esul such as ha ound in Spanish, as in isual wo d ecogni ion
he wo ds appea segmen ed on he pape .
Acknowledgemen s
This esea ch was suppo ed by he Spanish Minis e io de
Economía y Compe i i idad, PSI2015-64174-P and PSI2013-
47959-P.
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