In the present study, we examined the relative contributions of word frequency and contextual diversity in Chinese lexical recognition by using the ERP technique. Word frequency effect and contextual diversity effect were examined in separated models, and both were observed between 300~800 ms, which suggests the two effects occur at later stages of lexical identification. However, when incorporated word frequency, contextual diversity, and the interaction into the model, word frequency effect decreased and occurred in 300~400 ms, whereas contextual diversity effect maintained from 300 ms to 700 ms. It suggests that contextual diversity plays a more significant role than word frequency in Chinese word recognition, which provides support for the “principle of likely need” rather than the “principle of repetition” in visual word recognition.
%U https://psybeh.tjnu.edu.cn/EN/10.12139/j.1672-0628.2024.04.001