Logogen model: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:22, 15 December 2011

Revision as of 15:21, 17 January 2012

Line 15:

The logogen model can be used to help linguists explain particular occurrences in the human language. The most helpful application of the model is to show how we access words and their meanings in our [[lexicon]].

The word-frequency effect is best explained by the logogen model in that words (or logogens) that have a higher frequency (or are more common) have a lower threshold. This means that they require less perceptual power in the brain to be recognized and decoded from the lexicon and are recognized faster than those words that are less common. Also, with high frequency words, the recovery from lowering the item's threshold is less fulfilled compared to low frequency words so less sensory information is needed for that particular itemsitem's recognition. There are ways to lower thresholds, such as repetition and [[semantic]] [[priming]]. Also, each time a word is encountered through these methods, the threshold for that word is temporarily lowered partially because of its recovering ability. This model also conveys that specific concrete words are recalled better because they use images and logogens, whereas abstract words are not as easily recalled well because they only use logogens, hence showing the difference in thresholds between these two types of words.

Morton's logogen model at its time of inception was one of the most influential models in springing up other parallel word access models and served as the essential basis for these models that followed after. Morton's model was also extremely influential on the other contemporary theories on lexical access.