Note:

There are two submissions for this conference by the same authors because the two submissions are joint projects. Our research is extended in the other submission submitted by kibbins@ualberta.ca. We are, therefore, wondering if it would be at all possible to accommodate for the two posters to be presented side-by-side? Thank you.

Presenters

Karen Perez Cruz, Holly Kibbins, Mohamed Barre, Chelsa Patel & Dixie Wong

Abstract

Pseudo-compounds consist of two constituents, that when combined neither contribute morphemically to the overall meaning of the word. For example, the word carpet is contains the morphemes car (a vehicle) + pet (a domesticated animal) but neither play a morphemic role in comprehending carpet. Entropy is a mathematical measure of uncertainty and is used in examining the possible relations between constituents within pseudo-compounds. The more relations that are possible for an item (i.e. more possible definitions), the more difficult it is to determine the specific meaning; resulting in higher entropy and longer processing time. Previous findings indicate that for pseudo-compounds these effects in particular seem to be modulated by the degree to which the first constituent is available during processing. In this study we examine if entropy plays a role in suppressing the availability of the first constituent. We hypothesize that higher entropy would decrease the ease of processing of the first constituent and in turn, making the first constituent less available. This would then result in longer response times. Our findings support this hypothesis, with data showing that the first constituent is less available during processing in pseudo-compounds with high entropy. Therefore, this suggests that although the constituents of pseudo-compounds act non-productively, their meanings and possible relations still affect their processing

Poster

Authors & Affiliations

Karen Perez Cruz (Psychology Department, University of Alberta), Holly Kibbins (Psychology Department, University of Alberta), Mohamed Barre(Psychology Department, University of Alberta), Chelsa Patel(Psychology Department, University of Alberta) , Dixie Wong (Psychology Department, University of Alberta), Alex Taikh (Psychology Department, University of Alberta), Christina Gagné (Psychology Department, University of Alberta) , Thomas Spalding (Psychology Department, University of Alberta)