Determinants of picture naming times in Icelandic.
Numerous studies have found that word frequency has a significant effect on the time it takes to name an object or read a word. Recently, claims have been made that this frequency effect is perhaps more correctly interpreted as an age of acquisition effect. This paper reports an experiment in which naming times in Icelandic for 175 stimuli from the Snodgrass and Vanderwart picture set were determined. A multiple regression analysis of naming times against a number of independent factors showed that objective age of acquisition was the strongest predictor of naming time, with familiarity and name agreement also showing a significant effect. The effect of word frequency was, however, not significant. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Oddi, Reykjavic. jorgen@hi.is
Jörgen
J
Pind
Hjördis Björg
HB
Tryggvadóttir
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011930:Reaction Time; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014825:Vocabulary