دانشگاه اصفهان نشریه پژوهش های زبان شناسی 2322-3413 18 4 2026 12 22 Effect of Frequency on the Directionality of Conversion in Persian: A Psycholinguistic Approach Effect of Frequency on the Directionality of Conversion in Persian: A Psycholinguistic Approach 25 42 30414 10.22108/jrl.2026.148585.1950 FA Masoomeh Mehrabi Associate professor, Department of Linguistics and Persian Literature, Ayatollah Boroujerdi University, Boroujerd, Iran Behrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari Associate professor, College of Fine Arts / Faculty of Performing Arts and Music, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2026 04 13 This study examined a crucial factor in determining the directionality of conversion: frequency of occurrence. The primary objective was to assess the psycholinguistic methodologies, which contributed to identifying the direction of conversion in Persian: What happens cognitively during listening comprehension of converted item? Specifically, it investigated whether the well-established principle that higher frequency facilitates faster processing can help resolve this issue (directionality of conversion). Furthermore, it explored whether theoretical predictions align with empirical evidence obtained through psycholinguistic experimentation (psycholinguistic reality). The study adopted the theoretical framework of Shapiro and Levine (1990), which employs cross-modal lexical decision tasks measured by using the DMDX software, which records processing times in milliseconds during listening comprehension of sentences containing various types of conversion (e.g., adjective to noun/adverb, verb to noun, and noun to adjective). The independent variable was the type of conversion within the sentences, while the dependent variable was the reaction time of participants to visual stimuli. A total of 25 female university students aged 18–30 years, who were matched according to specific criteria, such as academic performance and grades, participated in the study. The findings suggested that frequency of occurrence as documented in corpus data (Bijankhan & Mohseni, 2018), along with processing time, serves as a reliable indicator of conversion directionality. This study examined a crucial factor in determining the directionality of conversion: frequency of occurrence. The primary objective was to assess the psycholinguistic methodologies, which contributed to identifying the direction of conversion in Persian: What happens cognitively during listening comprehension of converted item? Specifically, it investigated whether the well-established principle that higher frequency facilitates faster processing can help resolve this issue (directionality of conversion). Furthermore, it explored whether theoretical predictions align with empirical evidence obtained through psycholinguistic experimentation (psycholinguistic reality). The study adopted the theoretical framework of Shapiro and Levine (1990), which employs cross-modal lexical decision tasks measured by using the DMDX software, which records processing times in milliseconds during listening comprehension of sentences containing various types of conversion (e.g., adjective to noun/adverb, verb to noun, and noun to adjective). The independent variable was the type of conversion within the sentences, while the dependent variable was the reaction time of participants to visual stimuli. A total of 25 female university students aged 18–30 years, who were matched according to specific criteria, such as academic performance and grades, participated in the study. The findings suggested that frequency of occurrence as documented in corpus data (Bijankhan & Mohseni, 2018), along with processing time, serves as a reliable indicator of conversion directionality. https://jrl.ui.ac.ir/article_30414_441260187d4629e79d4af8ae386f5af3.pdf