Gender at first sight: ERP insights into automatic activation, semantic bias, and inclusive language dynamics in Spanish and Italian.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the activation of grammatical gender and its modulation by semantic information, such as biological sex and associated stereotypes. Using a gender-priming paradigm we explored the presence and modulation of the gender-congruency effect (GCE) through behavioral and electrophysiological measures (e.g., N400 and P300) in Spanish native and Italian-Spanish bilingual speakers. Primes included nouns with biological gender (e.g., cocineros MAS - male cooks), arbitrary gender referring to inanimate entities (e.g., ventanas FEM - windows); these nouns could be associated with a gender stereotype (e.g., bomberos MAS - male firefighters; faldas FEM - skirt) or neutral. Targets were gender-marked pronouns (éstos MAS / éstas FEM - these). Participants decided the gender of the pronoun. A GCE for both biological and arbitrary gender nouns was found, supporting the notion that grammatical gender is active at the lexical level and its activation is automatic, even in absence of relevant semantic information. Stereotypical primes enhanced the GCE, particularly among bilinguals, indicating that gender stereotypes can strengthen lexical-semantic activation in non-native speakers. Moreover, unlike Italian, both male and female Spanish speakers did not process the masculine form as inclusive, suggesting a shift toward more gender-sensitive representations in Spanish. Finally, while bilinguals showed evidence of cross-linguistic gender coactivation, native speakers displayed deeper semantic engagement, as reflected in stronger GCEs behaviorally. Overall, these findings demonstrate that grammatical gender processing in Spanish operates at a pure lexical level, interacts with semantic and sociolinguistic factors, and is sensitive to individual differences.