Psychology Publications
Distinctive Features Hold a Privileged Status in the Computation of Word Meaning: Implications for Theories of Semantic Memory
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2006
Journal
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
Volume
32
Issue
4
First Page
643
Last Page
658
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.32.4.643
Abstract
The authors present data from 2 feature verification experiments designed to determine whether distinctive features have a privileged status in the computation of word meaning. They use an attractor-based connectionist model of semantic memory to derive predictions for the experiments. Contrary to central predictions of the conceptual structure account, but consistent with their own model, the authors present empirical evidence that distinctive features of both living and nonliving things do indeed have a privileged role in the computation of word meaning. The authors explain the mechanism through which these effects are produced in their model by presenting an analysis of the weight structure developed in the network during training.
