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Individual Differences in Incidental Learning of Homophones During Silent Reading

Deibel, Megan E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594912994777369

Abstract Details

2020, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Previous research has found that homophones cause processing difficulties during word recognition (Folk, 1999; Perfetti & Hart, 2001; Pexman, Lupker, & Jared, 2001; Unsworth & Pexman, 2003). The present study evaluated if lexical expertise, the ability to efficiently recognize words during reading, influenced participants’ ability to learn novel homophones while reading. In two experiments novel homophones (e.g. `brale’) and novel nonhomophones (e.g. `gloobs’) were embedded in sentence frames containing context that indicated the meaning of the novel word. In Experiment 1, novel homophones had low-frequency real-world mates, and in Experiment 2, novel homophones had high-frequency real-world mates. After reading the sentences, participants’ word learning was tested using surprise meaning recognition and spelling recognition tests. Lexical expertise was measured through tests of spelling and vocabulary knowledge. Although eye movement behavior during reading did not differ between novel homophones and nonhomophones, participants had more difficulty learning the spellings of the novel homophones. Regardless of the novel homophone’s real-world mate’s frequency, learning rates for the novel homophone spellings were at chance levels in Experiments 1 and 2. In contrast, participants only had difficulty learning the meaning of a novel homophone when the novel homophone had a low-frequency mate. Higher levels of lexical expertise were related to higher learning rates of novel homophone spellings, but only when the novel homophones had a high-frequency mate. These findings indicate that phonology is activated when novel words are encountered and can interfere with the acquisition of new spellings associated with the existing phonological representation regardless of homophone mate frequency.
Jocelyn Folk, Ph.D. (Advisor)
John Dunlosky, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
William Merriman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jeffrey Ciesla, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
73 p.
Psychology
Phonology; Word Learning; Lexical Expertise; Reading; Word Recognition; Incidental Learning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Deibel, M. E. (2020). Individual Differences in Incidental Learning of Homophones During Silent Reading [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594912994777369

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Deibel, Megan. Individual Differences in Incidental Learning of Homophones During Silent Reading. 2020. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594912994777369.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Deibel, Megan. "Individual Differences in Incidental Learning of Homophones During Silent Reading." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594912994777369

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1594912994777369
208
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.