| dc.description.abstract | Using the semantic priming paradigm, this study examined the effect of Chinese character recognition ability on hemispheric processing of Chinese polysemy. The variables investigated included stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), the degree of meaning relatedness of the target prime pairs, visual field and character recognition ability.
Three experiments were conducted to facilitate the observation of the aforementioned variables. In each experiment, the participants, 36 adults and 72 sixth-graders, all took the Chinese Character Size Test and the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. They were then grouped into three groups based on their performance on the Chinese Character Size Test: adults with normal character size group (ANCSG), sixth-graders with high character size group (SHCSG) and sixth-graders with average character size group (SACSG). All the groups were equivalent in their non-verbal IQ.
Experiment 1 manipulated SOA (250 ms vs. 750 ms), meaning relatedness (dominate vs. subordinate vs. non-related) and character size (ANCSG vs. SHCSG vs. SACSG). The results revealed that character recognition ability and the degree of meaning relatedness respectively affected the processing of polysemy, but their effects were modulated by SOA. In order to further explore the different semantic processing mechanisms for hemispheric asymmetries, Experiment 2 employed a short SOA of 250 ms (automatic spreading activation mechanism) while Experiment 3 employed a long SOA of 750 ms (controlled semantic matching mechanism). Hemispheric contributions were pinpointed in both experiments by using the divided visual field technique. Moreover, visual field (LFV vs. RFV), meaning relatedness (dominate vs. subordinate vs. non-related) and character size (ANCSG vs. SHCSG vs. SACSG) were manipulated in both experiments.
The results of Experiment 2 showed that in the automatic spreading activation mechanism, visual field, meaning relatedness and character size all produced a significant main effect. These findings suggest that readers with higher character size would activate faster the multiple meanings of polysemy. The speed of semantic activation in the left hemisphere is faster than that in the right hemisphere. In addition, the multiple meanings of polysemy are activated at different levels, depending on the degree of meaning relatedness. The outcomes of Experiment 3 recognized a significant interaction effect of visual field and character size at 750 ms SOA. This situation suggests that, in a controlled semantic matching mechanism, the priming effects of both dominate and subordinate meanings can be observed in the right hemisphere. Only the priming effect of dominate meaning can be found in the left hemisphere.
In conclusion, the access of the multiple meanings of polysemy is subject to the influence of character size, visual field and meaning relatedness respectively. The influence patterns of these three variables vary in accordance to the semantic processing mechanisms at the early or late stages. Based on the findings and limitations of the current study, the researcher proposes suggestions for related research in the future.
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