Authors:

McQueen, J. M., NORRIS, D., & Cutler, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2006

CBU number:

6417

Abstract:

Comment on 'Are there interactive processes in speech perception?' Trends in Cognitive Science, 10(8), 363-369 Lexical information facilitates speech perception, especially when sounds are ambiguous or degraded. The interactive approach to understanding this effect posits that this facilitation is accomplished through bi-directional flow of information, allowing lexical knowledge to influence pre-lexical processes. Alternative autonomous theories posit feed-forward processing with lexical influence restricted to post-perceptual decision processes. We review evidence supporting the prediction of interactive models that lexical influences can affect pre-lexical mechanisms, triggering compensation, adaptation and retuning of phonological processes generally taken to be pre-lexical. We argue that these and other findings point to interactive processing as a fundamental principle.