Investigating Thematic and Taxonomic Influences on Spoken Word Recognition: Insights from Mouse Trajectories, Delta Plots, and Diffusion Models

Semantic knowledge, a psychological cornerstone, distinguishes between thematically (e.g., cow-grass) and taxonomically (e.g., cow-chicken) related concepts. This study used mouse-tracking spoken word recognition paradigm to explore their activation during spoken word recognition. Findings reveal similar competition strength and temporal dynamics, challenging previous distinctions between thematic and taxonomic semantic processing.