Principle of likely need versus principle of repetition as competing accounts of lexical learning¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The chapter contrasts two learning principles underlying lexical organization. The principle of repetition holds that repeating a word increases its memory strength; the principle of likely need, from rational models of memory, holds that a word experienced in many distinct contexts is more broadly accessible because it is more likely to be needed in an unknown future context. The chapter states that "A word that has been experienced in many contexts during learning is more likely to be needed in an unknown future context, making it more broadly accessible in the lexicon." The two principles make different item-specific predictions about words repeated within versus across contexts.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A specification of what counts as a distinct context, since the principle requires defining the contextual unit over which diversity is counted

Constraints¶

• Frequency and contextual diversity are highly correlated, so distinguishing the principles requires item-specific predictions and large behavioral datasets

Target Learners¶

• language learners
• children acquiring vocabulary

Target Learning Objectives¶

• lexical organization
• word learning
• semantic representation

Claims¶

• Contextual Diversity Beats Frequency Lexical Access [+M]
• Words higher in contextual diversity and semantic richness are processed more accurately and efficiently in lexical tasks [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Wickens' Context Alpha and Context Beta distinction
• Semantic diversity as a graded measure of contextual diversity based on document content overlap
• Expectancy-congruency learning mechanism updating lexical representations from context fit

Examples¶

• Teach vocabulary by varying contexts rather than repeating words within the same context

Key Sources¶

• Jones, M. N., Dye, M., & Johns, B. T. (2017). Context as an Organizing Principle of the Lexicon. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 67. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.plm.2017.03.008