Detecting concealed language knowledge via response times
- Author(s)
- Gáspár Lukács, Claudia Kawai, Ulrich Ansorge, Anna Fekete
- Abstract
In the present study, we introduce a response-time-based test that can be used to detect concealed language knowledge, for various potential applications (e.g., espionage, border control, counter-terrorism). In this test, the examinees are asked to respond to repeatedly presented items, including a real word in the language tested (suspected to be known by the examinee) and several pseudowords. A person who understands the tested language recognizes the real word and tends to have slower responses to it as compared to the pseudowords, and, thereby, can be distinguished from those who do not understand the language. This was demonstrated in a series of experiments including diverse participants tested for their native language (German, Hungarian, Polish, Russian; n = 312), for second language (English, German; n = 66), and several control groups (n = 192).
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Philosophy, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, Research Platform Mediatised Lifeworlds: Young people's narrative constructions, connections and appropriations
- Journal
- Applied Linguistics Review
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1027-1044
- No. of pages
- 18
- ISSN
- 1868-6303
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2020-0130
- Publication date
- 09-2021
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501020 Legal psychology, 501006 Experimental psychology, 602026 Cognitive linguistics
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics, Linguistics and Language
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/detecting-concealed-language-knowledge-via-response-times(7684ee6a-5414-4d50-a440-b39c29dcd4a4).html