Fixation-star lexical processing task with noun and verb trials¶
Design · All designs
Evidence · 6 claims (6 for) · 1 study (1 associational),q2· 0 of 1 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study
Description¶
A variant of Fernald et al.'s (1998) lexical processing task in which, during the Response phase, 'the two images or videos disappeared, and a centrally positioned yellow star appeared, during which children heard the test query'. The two scenes then reappeared with a 'ding' sound to facilitate coding. The task included 13 trials with 7 nouns and 6 verbs, with noun referents shown as static images and verb referents as dynamic videos of people performing everyday actions. Latency was coded manually from video at 30 frames per second as the time from the onset of the 'ding' to the first look to the target scene. Because children look at the center at word onset, latency can be measured on all trials.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Children must be able to view the two scenes side-by-side and hear the auditory test query; the design requires that children are looking at the center of the screen at word onset so latency of the first saccade toward the target can be measured on all trials.
Constraints¶
- Latencies are measured from the onset of when the scenes reappear after word onset rather than from word onset, so they are 'not directly comparable to those in other studies'.
Target Learners¶
- typically developing 36-month-old children
Learning Goals¶
- receptive vocabulary and lexical processing speed for nouns and verbs
Claims¶
- Lexical processing speed at 36 months is associated with concurrent receptive vocabulary, but more weakly than at younger ages [+W]
- Verb trials with dynamic scenes yield longer latencies than noun trials with static images, and noun and verb latencies are moderately correlated [+W]
- Lexical processing latency at 36 months does not predict concurrent grammatical complexity (LDS average length of phrase) [+W]
- Lexical processing latency at 36 months predicts school readiness (BSRA) at 60 months for overall and noun-trial latency, but not verb-trial latency [+W]
- Overall lexical processing latency at 36 months predicts receptive vocabulary at 60 months, but not over and above concurrent vocabulary [+W]
- Lexical processing at 36 months did not predict later school readiness over and above concurrent vocabulary, but predicted BSRA better than vocabulary at 60 months did [+W]
Related Designs¶
Examples¶
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Key Sources¶
- Koenig Ashley, Arunachalam Sudha, Saudino Kimberly J. (2020). Lexical processing of nouns and verbs at 36 months of age predicts concurrent and later vocabulary and school readiness. Journal of cognition and development : official journal of the Cognitive Development Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2020.1802277
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
design |
id |
fixation-star-lexical-processing-task-noun-verb |
title |
Fixation-star lexical processing task with noun and verb trials |
description |
A variant of Fernald et al.'s (1998) lexical processing task in which, during the Response phase, 'the two images or videos disappeared, and a centrally positioned yellow star appeared, during which children heard the... |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — koenig-ashley-2020 |
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