Stimulation of lexical-semantic abilities via a short experimental manipulation

This resource includes paper-and-pen material meant to stimulate lexical-semantic abilities for experimental purposes.

The material consists of three 1-page stories (i.e., 300-400 words each) about Mount Kilimanjaro, the Roswell Incident and the Challenger Expedition. Each story is provided in two versions: a "control" (or EASY) version, and an "experimental" (or HARD) version in which 150 terms (50 per story) were replaced with a synonym/alternative word characterised by a lower frequency of use, as per published UK normative data (doi: 10.1080/17470218.2013.850521). All frequency scores are included in the file.

The material can be used to stimulate linguistic skills, but also memory processes (such as semantic memory), or executive functioning (such as set-shifting) for the purposes of an experimental manipulation. The rationale at the basis of the manipulation posits that exposure to the experimental condition will require deeper lexical semantic processing than exposure to the control condition, and this will in turn lead to better performance on a task administered immediately after.

The procedure of administration is described in the document.

The document also includes a brief demographic questionnaire.