The Influence of Hierarchical Masks on Masked Repetition Priming: Evidence From Event-Related Potential Investigation

Abstract

The discussion about relationship between prime and target has contributed to the mechanism of priming effect and object recognition. Nevertheless, the role of relationship between mask and target in those cognitive processes remains unquestioned. In the present study, we aim to investigate how mask-target hierarchical relationship may affect word priming and familiarity, by using the masked repetition paradigm and manipulating three hierarchical relationship between mask and target. It is hypothesized that a closer hierarchical relationship between mask and target is associated with a higher mask target similarity, and thereby it leads to a worse recognition performance. Our behavioral results do not support this hypothesis by showing no effect of mask target hierarchical relationship on response time (RT) and accuracy. Event-related potentials (ERPs) indicated that highly similar mask-target triggered (i.e., the subordinate-subordinate-subordinate trials) larger N1 amplitudes, suggesting that it requires more cognitive resource to discriminate the stimuli. In addition, trials with highly similar mask-target hierarchical relationship induced smaller P2 (150-250 ms) and larger mid-frontal FN400 amplitudes than do trials with low mask-target similarity (i.e., the subordinate-basic-subordinate and the subordinate-superordinate-subordinate trials). Our results suggested that the similarity between mask and target may impede conceptual fluency to reduce word priming and familiarity effect.

Keywords: FN400; P2; conceptual hierarchical relationship; familiarity; fluency; recognition.

Figure 1

Experimental procedure of the masked priming paradigm. In the present design, four experimental conditions were included, i.e., subordinate- subordinate-subordinate, subordinate-basic-subordinate, subordinate-superordinate-subordinate, and control conditions. To avoid a fixed positive response tendency, priming and target stimuli were either identical or different. Participants were asked to judge whether the priming and target stimuli were identical or not by pressing “F” or “J” key on a standard QWERTY keyboard, or they could press the space bar if could not decide. The number of identical and different trials was the same. Note that the illustration depicts a subordinate masked by basic categorization. Moreover, “mosquito” was a typical representation of “insect.”

Figure 2

Behavioral performance. (A) Mean response times (RTs) to target stimuli in the three conditions. There were no significant differences among the sub-sub-sub, sub-basic-sub, sub-sup-sub. p > 0.05 [one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. (B) Accuracies in response to target stimuli in the four conditions. There were no significant differences among the sub-sub-sub, sub-basic-sub, sub-sup-sub. p > 0.05 [one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA)], N = 18. For each condition, error bars represent ±SEM across participants. NB. “RT” is response time; “sub-sub-sub,” “sub-bas-sub,” and “sub-sup-sub” represent subordinate-subordinate-subordinate, subordinate-basic-subordinate, and subordinate-superordinate-subordinate, respectively.

Figure 3

Grand-average event-related potential (ERP) waveforms measured at the anterior [(F3+F1+Fz+F2+F4+FC3+FC1+FCz+FC2+FC4)/10] and posterior [(CP3+CP1+CPZ+CP2+CP4+P3+P1+Pz+P2+P4)/10] regions for the subordinate masking, basic masking and subordinate-superordinate-subordinate. (A) The grand-averaged waveforms elicited by subordinate masking stimulus and basic masking stimulus and the difference waveforms (subordinate minus basic) in the anterior and posterior regions, as well as the topographies of the difference waveforms at 150–250 ms and 300–400 ms. (B) Grand-averaged waveforms elicited by subordinate masking stimulus and superordinate masking stimulus and the difference waveforms (subordinate minus superordinate) in the anterior and posterior regions, as well as the topographies of the difference waveforms at 150–250 ms and 300–400 ms. (C) Grand-averaged waveforms elicited by basic masking stimulus and superordinate masking stimulus and the different waveforms at 150–250 ms and 300–400 ms.