Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Richard J. Harris / The revised hierarchical model assumes a strong lexical link from L2 to L1 and a strong conceptual link from L1 to L2, with both links being contingent on L2 fluency. The bilingual memory literature has discussed the role of L2 fluency in bilingual lexical and semantic retrieval; however, little is known on how priming for a target language (L1 or L2) may affect lexical and semantic access or how it is affected by L2 proficiency. The present study utilized the revised hierarchical model to examine how language priming and intermediate levels of L2 fluency affects bilingual lexical and semantic retrieval in a yes/no image/word task. 181 participants read four paragraphs of discourse to prime for a specific target language (English or Spanish) and performed a modified picture-word interference task (MPWI), in which they had to determine if image/word pairs were congruent (matched) or incongruent (did not match). The main dependent variables were accuracy and RT on the MPWI task. Additional DVs were accuracy and RT on comprehension questions over the content of the priming discourse and question type (explicit, factual, and pragmatic). Across intermediate levels of L2 fluency, those more fluent performed faster and were more accurate on the MPWI task than those less fluent. No differences were observed when the image/word pairs were congruent for English or Spanish, yet there was a language difference when incongruent for Spanish. Readers had highest percent correct for explicit questions and lowest for pragmatic questions, took longer on factual than pragmatic question, and took longer to respond when priming discourse and questions were in Spanish than when in English. The results are interpreted and discussed in terms of the revised hierarchical model, in that fluency, at least at the intermediate level, affects processing time more than accuracy. Limitations of the study, future directions, and implications for L2 educators are also discussed.

The present study aims to explore the relationship between proficiency level and semantic retrieval in the second language. A group of Korean bilinguals who speak English with high proficiency performed semantic relatedness judgement tasks of two hundred English word pairs. Unbeknownst to the participants, half of the words in both the related and the unrelated categories contained a "hidden prime"—a common first syllable shared by the two words, if translated into Korean. Each participant's event-related potential (ERP) was recorded while reading the words. While a former study by Thierry and Wu (2007) found that Chinese-English bilinguals were affected by the hidden primes, thus causing a "N400 reduction effect" in their averaged ERP, the bilingual group of the present study was unaffected by the hidden primes. The difference between the bilingual groups' performance between Thierry and Wu's study and the present study is likely caused by the higher English proficiency of the bilingual group in the present study. This provides additional evidence supporting the Revised Hierarchical Model of semantic retrieval proposed by Kroll and Steward (1994), which suggests that increased proficiency leads to reduced reliance on the first language during second language semantic retrieval.

本論文採用負向促發作業，探討中英雙語者之認知處理，主要研究目的為：一、探討雙語連結因不同促發順序（L1-L2 或 L2-L1）所致的不對稱性，及其連結性質的差異。二、探討不同 L2 熟練度的雙語者，是否表現出不同的雙語連結型態，而有發展性變遷的現象。三、探討雙語概念、詞彙的連結，是否會因文字形式、雙語文字間的相關或對譯關係的不同，而有不同的型態。 在兩個實驗中，所進行之負向促發作業卻產生正向促發效果，根據文獻推論可能是 SOA 間距不夠長；且繼續分析此促發效果型態，仍有其理論意義。 實驗一以 20 名中文四同學、 20 名英文四同學，進行匿視促發項之跨語言語意相關字彙判斷作業，結果發現：促發順序 L1-L2 產生顯著效果、L2-L1 無顯著效果、兩方向間的不對稱值隨著 L2 熟練度提高而變小。顯示雙語間的不對稱現象，是因兩方向之連結性質不同所致，且此不對稱有發展性變遷的現象，與雙語之「修正階層模式」預測一致。 實驗二以 24 名一般大學生，採相同作業程序，進行匿視促發項之跨語言對譯字（具體、抽象）、相關字字彙判斷，結果發現：整體之數據分析，顯示對譯字並未比相關字產生較大效果；具體對譯字也沒有比抽象對譯字產生較大效果；具體對譯字在兩促發順序之不對稱值也沒有比抽象對譯字小。但分別將對譯字、相關字在不同促發順序分析其不對稱情形、及在 L2-L1 情況對譯字、相關字之效果差異，顯示此部份結果符合以「修正階層模式」為基礎所提出之預測。 總括而言，中英雙語之概念、詞彙連結之不對稱性，亦能以「修正階層模式」加以解釋；但是文字形式對中英雙語之影響，仍有待更進一步研究來加以釐清。