ERP experiment on the processing of idiomatic expressions

This experimental data was created in the context of the project B9 Getting a Grip on Non-Literal Meaning; The Dynamics of Understanding Idiomatic Expressions in Language Learners. It is an ERP experiment.

In this experiment we tested online processing mechnisms for idiomatic expressions in native adults and ten-year-old children. Participants listened (adults and children) or listened (adults) to idiomatic expressions. The final words were either (i) correct idiomatatic completions, (ii)  words semantically related to the correct idiomatic completion or (iii) unrelated words. We measured amplitudes using EEG methods to compare event-related potentials  to final words. Using this paradigm we aimed to measure (1) whether participant groups predict idiom-final words and (2) whether they activate constituent meanings within idioms.