Age of acquisition and name agreement as predictors of mean response latencies in picture naming of french adults

We studied the influence of five variables on picture naming latencies in F rench adult subjects: frequency, age of acquisition and length of words nam e agreement in oral naming, and visual complexity of pictures. 140 pictures were presented to 56 subjects with control of individual factors (age, edu cational level, gender). Naming latency was measured as thr time from pictu re onset until keystroke corresponding to the begin or verbal production. T he results of simple and multiple regression analyses show that only two va riables make independent contributions to mean response latency: age or acq uisition and name agreement. Such state of affairs confirm similar findings obtained with English speaking subjects. (C) 2000 Academic Press.