= Phonological competition
<Phonological competition> occurs when speech forms with overlapping sounds are simultaneously plausible candidates during <spoken word recognition> and influence the eventual selection. For example, hearing the beginning of “candle” can make “candy” temporarily relevant as well. Later acoustic evidence can resolve the ambiguity even though the alternative has already affected processing.
In a 2005 experiment, a listener saw two pictures and used a mouse to select the named object. When the competing picture had a similar-sounding name, such as “candy” beside “candle”, the movement toward the correct object was drawn farther toward that competitor than toward an unrelated alternative. The comparison demonstrated an effect of <phonological competition> on the path of the response, beyond whether the final click was correct.<Continuous attraction toward phonological competitors by Michael Spivey and others>[PNAS 102, pp. 10393–10398; cohort/control conditions and Figure 1]{ref}
This suggests a useful experimental distinction: accuracy measures the final choice, while <reaction time> and <mouse tracking> can reveal costs and intermediate influences. Similarity alone does not establish competition; a controlled manipulation must show that the alternative changes processing or behaviour.
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