Abstract
Structural priming is the tendency to repeat syntactic structure across sentences and can be divided into short-term (prime to immediately following target) and long-term (across an experimental session) components. This study investigates how non-declarative memory could support both the transient, short-term and the persistent, long-term structural priming effects commonly seen in the literature. We propose that these characteristics are supported by different subcomponents of non-declarative memory: Perceptual and conceptual non-declarative memory respectively. Previous studies have suggested that these subcomponents age differently, with only conceptual memory showing age-related decline. By investigating how different components of structural priming vary across the lifespan, we aim to elucidate how non-declarative memory supports two seemingly different components of structural priming. In 167 participants ranging between 20 and 85 years old, we find no change in short-term priming magnitude and performance on perceptual tasks, whereas both long-term priming and conceptual memory vary with age. We suggest therefore that the two seemingly different components of structural priming are supported by different components of non-declarative memory. These findings have important implications for theoretical accounts of structural priming.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Author Note Evelien Heyselaar, Behavioural Sciences Institute, Radboud university; Evelien Heyselaar, Katrien Segaert, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham; Katrien Segaert, Centre for Human Brain Healthy, University of Birmingham, Linda Wheeldon, Department of Foreign Languages and Translation, University of Agder.
We tested a new group of 20 - 29 year olds and included them in this manuscript. The original 20 - 29 year olds were excluded due to inconsistent and noisy data (see previous version for figures of their performance relative to the other age groups). We additionally added a factor analysis to the analysis procedure.
