Typicality effects in picture-word interference paradigm: An evaluation of the response exclusion hypothesis

The response exclusion hypothesis suggests that the polarity of semantic effects in the picture-word interference paradigm is determined by the response-relevant criteria. Semantic interference effects would be observed when semantically related distractor words satisfy the response-relevant criteria; otherwise, semantic facilitation effects should be found. The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the response exclusion hypothesis by exploring the typicality effects in pictures naming. In two experiments, pictures of objects were named either in the context of verb distractor words with different typicality of passive functions or in the context of adjective distractor words with different typicality of characteristics. Facilitation effects were observed in context of typical verbs and adjectives, while interference effects were observed in the context of atypical verbs and adjectives. Given that neither typical nor atypical distractor words satisfy the response-relevant criteria to produce noun, these findings are problematic for the response exclusion hypothesis. Role of syntagmatic relationships in lexical retrieval was invoked to explain present findings.