Contextual effects on word production: A lifespan study

The effect of sentence priming on picture naming was investigated across th e lifespan, from age 3 to 87 years. Names that are normally acquired before 3 years of age were presented in auditory contexts that were semantically congruent, incongruent, or neutral in relation to each picture and its name . Sentential priming was present at all age levels. Facilitation (neutral v s. congruent) was significant by 4 years of age and did not vary significan tly with age. Interference (incongruent vs. neutral) was significant at all age levels, but changed nonmonotonically with age (largest in the youngest children, stable from young adulthood through age 70, with a small increas e in the oldest participants). We conclude that picture naming is a useful tool for the investigation of sentential priming effects across the Lifespa n and that it can reveal potentially interesting developmental changes in t he effects of sentential context on word retrieval.