title: What the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) says about homophone frequency inheritance.
abstract: The present study uses tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states as a unique source of evidence to test the hypothesis of lexical access benefits for homophones--that is, whether low-frequency homophones, such as tee, inherit the lexical access benefits of their high-frequency homophonic counterparts, such as tea. We compared retrieval success rates for low-frequency homophones, for matched low-frequency controls, and for high-frequency controls with the combined frequency of the homophone set. In correct retrievals, low-frequency homophones behaved according to their specific frequency, not differing from the low-frequency controls. However, retrieval failures revealed a different kind of homophone effect. When retrieval failed for targets with a homophone partner, access difficulties tended to be less profound than for low-frequency controls, ending closer to target retrieval more often than low-frequency controls (at Step 2; in a self-resolved TOT or in a TOT with a strong feeling of knowing), and ending far away from target retrieval less often than low-frequency controls (at Step 1; in a notGOT). These results provide evidence against the notion of shared word-form representations for homophonic targets but leave open a door for a weaker form of homophone effects, possibly arising from feedback activation that influences retrieval only when access is sufficiently slowed (as when retrieval fails).
authors.affiliation: University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. iantonm2@une.edu.au
authors.forename: Inés
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Antón-Méndez
authors.forename: Carson T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Schütze
authors.forename: Mary K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.forename: Tamar H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Gollan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001245:Association Learning; D003210:Concept Formation; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult