Effects of working memory load on lexical-semantic encoding in language production

Abstract

Some models of lexical access in language production postulate that lexical-semantic encoding is driven bottom-up, by the conceptual input, and top-down, by a representation of the task. In the cyclic semantic blocking paradigm, participants repeatedly name sets of objects that are either semantically related or unrelated. Whereas the manipulation of semantic relatedness affects lexical-semantic encoding in a bottom-up fashion, the cyclic presentation of small object sets allows participants to bias the corresponding lexical-semantic representations top-down for selection. The role of working memory (WM) in this top-down modulation was investigated by crossing the cyclic semantic blocking paradigm with a manipulation of WM load. Participants' naming latencies displayed significant effects of semantic context, WM load, and their interaction. A word-naming task using the same materials yielded a main effect of WM load but no significant effects of semantic context or of its interaction with WM load. These and related results are discussed with regard to their implications for models of language production.