The eŒects of age-of-acquisition and frequency-of-occurrence in visual word recognition: Further evidence from the Dutch language

It has been claimed that the frequency eŒect in visual word naming is an artefact of age-of-acquisition: Words are named faster not because they are encountered more often in texts, but because they have been acquired earlier. In a series of experiments using immediate naming, lexical decision, and masked priming, we found that frequency had a clear eŒect in lexical tasks when age-of-acquisition is controlled for. At the same time, age-ofacquisition was a signi® cant variable in all tasks, whereas imageability had no eŒect. These results corroborate ® ndings previously reported in English and Dutch.