A lexical decision task involves determining if sensory input matches a word, important for semantic memory and lexical access. Researchers adjust variables to infer how conditions affect lexical access. Repetition and word association impact recognition speed. Results are scored based on reaction time.
A lexical decision task, or LTD, is a type of psychological test in which an individual is asked to determine whether or not given sensory input matches a word. Sensory information can be visual, in the form of images or groups of letters, or auditory. The lexical decision task is especially important for the subfields of psychology known as semantic memory and lexical access. Semantic memory refers to the recall of facts, meanings, and concepts that are not specifically linked to a historical point in an individual’s life memory. Lexical access refers specifically to the process in which connections are made between stimuli and meaning, such as when a sound is identified as a word.
There are many different variables that researchers can adjust in a lexical decision task to allow them to make inferences about which conditions affect lexical access in what ways. How common or rare a word is, for example, can have a significant impact on how quickly, on average, individuals are able to identify a word. Researchers also try to get a large sample of different test subjects to participate in a given task. An individual with a strong educational background, for example, is more likely to perform better than someone with very little education or limited literacy.
Psychological tests of this type are usually scored on how long it takes a candidate to identify a sound or image as a word or a non-word. To do this, the candidate is usually asked to press a button on a computer or take some other decisive and quick action. In many cases, the entire lexical decision task is conducted on a keyboard. This eliminates the risk that the direct presence of the researcher could have any kind of effect on the results.
Repetition and word association are two phenomena that have been shown to have particular significance in a lexical decision task experiment. A word identified as a word at one point in the test will generally be recognized as a word more quickly later in the test. Also, a word closely associated with a previous word will often be recognized more quickly than a word with no previous association. “Table,” for example, is likely to be recognized more quickly in a lexical decision task if it is preceded by “chair” than if it is preceded by “walrus.”
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