Lexical Decision
general article writing
Description
Citation 8 -- “Lexical Decision”
1. APA-style reference for the article
2. Goal of article: State the research questions and/or hypotheses being investigated (What are
they trying to do?) (Four sentences to one paragraph)
3. List three (3) cognitive psychology terms important for the topic of the article, find their
definitions or descriptions in any CogPsy textbook (give reference) and provide them here:
1.
2.
3.
4. Describe ALL the dependent variables for the designated experiment:
a. Provide an operational definition
b. Name the units it was measured in
5. Describe ALL the independent variables for the designated experiment:
c. Name each variable
d. List its levels
e. State the statistical test(s) that was/were used to analyze the data
f. If there are more than one independent variable, state the factorial design
6. Describe how the experiment was conducted, i.e., what was the procedure: (4-6 sentences)
7. Identify all the main effects and interactions (if the design is factorial). Make sure you state
the main effect for EACH independent variable you named in (5):
a. Provide the statistical statement (t- or F-statement)
b. Explain each statement in plain English
8. Steps or conclusions suggested by the article (One paragraph):
a. How is each research question listed in (4) answered?
b. What do the data mean?
9. Using your knowledge of semantic networks, how could you set up a lexical decision task in
order to find out if “sheep” is more or less related to “lamb” compared to “wool”? (One-two
paragraphs).
10. Create a design (IVs, DV, materials) of a hypothetical experiment to test the structure of
that part of the mental lexicon that represents the words “vehicle”, “park’, and “diesel” and
describe what you predict the results will look like. Use the findings in the article for you
predcitions. (One-two paragraphs).
