Age of acquisition effects in reading Chinese: Evidence in favour of the arbitrary mapping hypothesis

Two experiments explored the locus of the age of acquisition (AoA) effects in the processing of Chinese characters and tested the arbitrary mapping hypothesis of AoA effects. In Experiment 1, AoA and predictability from orthography to pronunciation of Chinese characters were manipulated in a naming task. Results showed a larger AoA effect for characters from low-predictive families than for characters from high-predictive families. In Experiment 2, AoA and predictability from orthography to meaning were manipulated in a semantic category judgment task. Results showed a larger AoA effect for characters from low-predictive families than for characters from high-predictive families. In summary, the two experiments provided empirical support for the arbitrary mapping hypothesis to explain AoA effects.