Repetition blindness and bilingual memory: Token individuation for translation equivalents

The repetition blindness effect (RB) occurs when individuals are unable to recall a repeated word relative to a nonrepeated word in a sentence or string of words presented in a rapid serial visual presentation task. This effect was explored across languages (English and Spanish) in an attempt to provide evidence for RB at a conceptual level using noncognate translation equivalents (e.g.,nephew-sobrino). In the first experiment, RB was found when a word was repeated in an English sentence but not when the two repetitions were in different languages. In the second experiment, RB was found for identical repetitions in Spanish and in English using word lists. However, the crosslanguage condition produced significant facilitation in recall, suggesting that although conceptual processing had taken place, semantic overlap was not sufficient to produce RB. The results confirm Kanwisher’s (1987) token individuation hypothesis in the case of translation equivalent

Concreteness, context-availability, and image-ability ratings and word associations for abstract, concrete, and emotion words.

Normative values on various word characteristics were obtained for abstract, concrete, and emotion words in order to facilitate research on concreteness effects and on the similarities and differences among the three word types. A sample of 78 participants rated abstract, concrete, and emotion words on concreteness, context availability,and imagery scales, Word associations were also gathered for abstract, concrete, and emotion words. The data were used to investigate similarities and differences among these three word types on word attributes, association strengths, and number of associations. These normative data can be used to further research on concreteness effects, word type effects, and word recognition for abstract, concrete, and emotion words

The influence of lexical and conceptual constraints on reading mixed-language sentences: Evidence from eye-fixation and naming times

In two experiments, we explored the degree to which sentence context effects operate at a lexical or conceptual level by examining the processing of mixed-language sentences by fluent Spanish-English bilinguals. In Experiment 1, subjects\u27 eye movements were monitored while they read English sentences in which sentence constraint, word frequency, and language of target word were manipulated. A frequency x constraint interaction was found when target words appeared in Spanish, but not in English. First fixation durations were longer for high-frequency Spanish words when these were embedded in high-constraint sentences than in low-constraint sentences. This result suggests that the conceptual restrictions produced by the sentence context were met, but that the lexical restrictions were not. The same result did not occur for low-frequency Spanish words, presumably because the slower access of low-frequency words provided more processing time for the resolution of this conflict. Similar results were found in Experiment 2 using rapid serial visual presentation when subjects named the target words aloud. It appears that sentence context effects are influenced by both semantic/conceptual and lexical information

Towards a Framework for Addressing Immigrants’ Social Determinants of Health

Towards a Framework for Addressing Social Determinants of Health Affecting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLAD) Communities Refki, D., Ahmed, R., and Altarriba, J. This study seeks to adapt and validate the National Institute of Minority Health Disparities Research Framework to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, defined in this study as foreign-born individuals who are Limited English Proficient. The framework depicts the multidimensional, multilevel, intersectional, and complex factors that shape health outcomes across the lifespan. The framework for addressing minority health disparities posits that health outcomes are shaped by the interplay between determinants related to the (a) behavioral and biological; (b) political and socio-cultural; (c) physical built environment, and (d) healthcare system forces. These determinants operate at four levels of influence: individual, interpersonal, community, and societal. Adaptation and validation of the Framework will deepen understanding of the interplay of these forces in the lives of members of CALD communities, illuminate levers of change, inform the development and implementation of effective interventions, and track progress and success in alleviating disparities. In this study, we adapt the Framework based on a systematic review of literature, then we validate the Framework using the perspectives of health and social service providers who serve CALD individuals and their communities. Data are gathered using (a) survey of healthcare professionals; and (b) focus groups of healthcare and social service providers and community leaders. Following the complete validation of the framework, we will provide recommendations for policy and practice. Validating the framework through the prism of healthcare professionals’ perspectives leverages a moment in time during a global pandemic that exposed vulnerabilities at all levels of influence and domains and that allows us to capture the determinants of health affecting CALD communities. Policy and practice recommendations will specify interventions at the moderators and mediators’ levels that can bring about positive health outcomes