Interplay of semantic and phonological predictions in language comprehension
Insights from the visual world paradigm
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21307147 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Armando Q Angulo-Chavira (0000-0002-6756-6717, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Alejandra Mitzi Castellón-Flores (0000-0002-0889-3507, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Anuenue Kukona (0000-0003-4377-3057, University of Greenwich), Natalia Arias-Trejo (0000-0002-4169-1616, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 267 |
| Pages | 106357 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0010-0277 • E-ISSN: 1873-7838 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106357 |
| PMID | 41175608 |
| OpenAlex | W4415799969 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 84 |
Prediction in language processing is a fundamental cognitive function that supports efficient comprehension and interaction by anticipating upcoming linguistic input from multiple cues, including semantic (meaning-based) and phonological (sound-based) information. This study examined the interaction between semantic and phonological pre-activation during predictive language processing using the visual world paradigm. Across seven experiments with Spanish speakers, we assessed predictive eye movements toward semantic and phonological competitors, both when these competitors were presented independently and when they directly competed, with two experiments specifically targeting bottom-up integration to evaluate the phono-semantic competition effects. Our results showed that predictive looks toward semantic competitors preceded the availability of phonological information. Moreover, when both cues were presented simultaneously, semantic predictions were prioritized during the anticipatory period, whereas phonological activation emerged primarily after the onset of the target word. Importantly, the bottom-up phonological effect occurred earlier in highly constraining sentence contexts than in neutral or absent contexts, indicating that semantic contexts facilitated phonological processing. Finally, the last two experiments demonstrated predictive fixations toward competitors phonologically related to the semantic competitor, suggesting that participants generated parallel predictions encompassing both semantic and phonological forms. Taken together, these findings support the framework of hierarchical predictive processing, in which semantic predictions guide and shape phonological predictions. The observed flexibility and context sensitivity of this system underscore the complexity of language comprehension, revealing that predictions are dynamically integrated and prioritized across multiple levels of linguistic representation
Animacy · Context (archaeology) · Phonology · Semantic memory · Semantics (computer science) · Sentence · Sentence processing · Multisensory perception and integration · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Reading and Literacy Development
Four central questions about prediction in language processing
An integrated theory of language production and comprehension
Anticipating Upcoming Words in Discourse
Tracking the Time Course of Spoken Word Recognition Using Eye Movements
A spreading activation theory of memory
The Revised Hierarchical Model
What do we mean by prediction in language comprehension?
A spreading-activation theory of retrieval in sentence production.
WordNet
Nonparametric statistical testing of EEG- and MEG-data
The real-time mediation of visual attention by language and world knowledge
The time-course of prediction in incremental sentence processing
Anticipating Words and Their Gender
Bilinguals reading in their second language do not predict upcoming words as native readers do
How Many Participants Do We Have to Include in Properly Powered Experiments? A Tutorial of Power Analysis with Reference Tables
The spatial and temporal signatures of word production components
Probabilistic word pre-activation during language comprehension inferred from electrical brain activity
G*Power 3
The flexibility and representational nature of phonological prediction in listening comprehension
Divergence point analyses of visual world data
Dissociating the pre-activation of word meaning and form during sentence comprehension
Hyper-speed meaning and form predictions
I’m not sure that curve means what you think it means
Verbal working memory capacity modulates semantic and phonological prediction in spoken comprehension
Phonological prediction during comprehension
Prediction involves two stages
Readers scrutinize lexical familiarity only in the absence of expectations
Bottom-up processes dominate early word recognition in toddlers
Multiple predictions during language comprehension
Infants aged 12 months use the gender feature in determiners to anticipate upcoming words
Cascading activation across levels of representation in children's lexical processing
Hierarchical prediction in toddlers
Predicting while comprehending language
Discourse-Based Word Anticipation During Language Processing
Semantic and Phonological Prediction in Language Comprehension
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |