Word frequency effect
The word frequency effect is a subject matter associated with cognitive psychology and is a psychological phenomenon where recognition times are faster for words seen more frequently than for words seen less frequently.[1]
A word is considered to be high frequency if the word is commonly used in daily speech, such as the word "the." A word is considered to be low frequency if the word is not commonly used, such as the word "strait."[2]
Examples
| Word | Ranking |
|---|---|
| The | 1st[3] |
| At | 20th |
| So | 50th |
| Did | 70th |
| Got | 100th |
| Mind | 300th |
| Chaos | 5,000th |
| Falkland | 20,000th |
| Marche | 45,000th |
| Tisane | 85,000th |
History
Research on the word frequency effect dates back several years, as some of the first research on the subject was conducted as far back as the 1950s. Most researchers believe that word frequency has an automatic effect on word recognition.[4]
The word frequency effect has since been well established by several researchers, including the following:
- 1957- Howes[5]
- 1957- Rosenzweig and Postman[6]
- 1959- Pollack, Rubenstein, & Decker[7]
- 1961- Brown and Rubenstein[8]
- 1982- Segui, Mehler, Frauenfelder, & Morton[9]
- 1984- Balotha and Chumbley[10]
- 1999- Balota, Paul, & Spieler[11]
Other researchers have demonstrated this effect beyond words, and have also shown a frequency effect with events in patients with neurological damage, meaning that high-frequency events were better preserved than low-frequency events. History of this research is less substantial, but was conducted by the following researchers:
- 1991- Grafman, Thompson, Weingartner, Martinez, Lawlor, & Sunderland[12]
- 1995- Sirigu, Zalla, Pillon, Grafman, & Agid[13]
Criticisms
Daniel Voyer proposed some criticism for the word frequency effect in 2003 after experiments on laterality effects in lexical decisions.[14] His experiments demonstrated two findings:
- (1) Word frequency effect was only significant for the left visual field presentation
- (2) In a case-altered condition, the word frequency effect meaningful for right visual field presentations.
Voyer further posits that hemispheric asymmetries may play a role in the word frequency effect.
Real World Applications
The importance of the word-frequency effect can be observed in time-sensitive situations.
Test-taking
The quick recognition of a word would potentially be important during a timed written assessment. With a strict limit on time available to complete a test, the presence of higher frequency words on the assessment would be more beneficial to the test-taker than low frequency words, as the high frequency words would be recognized faster and thus time could be utilized on other areas of the assessment.
Driving
Quick recognition of a word could also be important when reading road signs while driving. As a vehicle moves and passed road signs on the side of the road, there is only a short amount of time available to be able to read the road signs. The presence of higher frequency words on the road sign would allow for faster recognition and processing of road sign meaning, which could be critical in such a time sensitive situation.
See also
References
- ↑ Daniel Smilek; Scott Sinnett; Alan Kingstone. "Cognition". Oxford University Press Canada. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ↑ "Word Frequency Effect". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ↑ Harris, Jonathan. "Wordcount". Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ↑ Harley, Trevor (2008). The psychology of language from data to theory (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-84169-381-1. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ Howes, D. H. (1957). "On the relation between the intelligibility and frequency of occurrence of English words". Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 29: 296–305. doi:10.1121/1.1908862.
- ↑ Rosenzweig, M. R.; Postman, L (1957). "Intelligibility as a function of frequency of usage". J. Exp. Psychol. 54: 412–422. doi:10.1037/h0041465.
- ↑ Pollack, I; Rubenstein, H; Decker, L. "Intelligibility of known and unknown message sets". J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 31: 273–279. doi:10.1121/1.1907712.
- ↑ Brown, H; Rubenstein, C.R (1961). "Test of response bias explanation of word-frequency effect". Science. 133: 280–281. doi:10.1126/science.133.3448.280.
- ↑ Segui, J; Mehler, J; Frauenfelder, U; Morton, J (1982). "The word frequency effect and lexical access". Neuropsychologia. 20: 615–627. doi:10.1016/0028-3932(82)90061-6.
- ↑ Balota, D.A; Chumbley, J.I (1984). "The locus of word-frequency effects in the pronunciation task: Lexical access and/or production frequency". Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(85)90017-8. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ Balota, D.A; Paul, S.T; Spieler, D.H (1999). "Attentional control of lexical processing pathways during word recognition and reading". Language processing: 15–57.
- ↑ Grafman, J; Thompson, K; Weingartner, H; Martinez, R; Lawlor, B.A; Sunderland, T (1991). "Script generation as an indicator of knowledge representation in patients with Alzheimer's disease". Brain Lang. 40: 344–358. doi:10.1016/0093-934x(91)90134-m.
- ↑ Sirigu, A; Zalla, T; Pillon, B; Grafman, J; Agid, Y; Dubois, B (1995). "Selective impairments in managerial knowledge following pre-frontal cortex damage". Cortex. 31: 301–316. doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(13)80364-4.
- ↑ Voyer, Daniel (2003). "Word frequency and laterality effects in lexical decision: Right hemisphere mechanisms". Brain and Language. 87 (3): 421–431. doi:10.1016/s0093-934x(03)00143-3. Retrieved 4 November 2014.