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EFFECTS OF REPEATED STIMULATION ON
COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR
SOME EXPERIMENTS ON THE PHENOMENON OF
SEMANTIC SATIATION
A Word version of this
document is at:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2000/banaag/semantic-satiation.doc
Leon Jakobovits James
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studio and
Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.
Department of Psychology,
McGill University,
Montreal.
April, 1962.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
It is a
pleasure and privilege to acknowledge the help of the following persons whose
criticisms have contributed to the improvement 0f the research program reported
in this thesis. Dr. Charles E. Osgood of the Institute of Communications
Research and the University of Illinois has shown a keen interest in our work
on semantic satiation and has offered many helpful suggestions in design and
interpretation of results. The presentation of some of the experiments reported
here profited from the criticism. Dr. Arthur V. Mellon of the University of
Michigan who read them in his capacity as Editor of the Journal of
Experimental Psychology. I owe my greatest indebtedness to Dr. Wallace E.
Lambert of McGill University who has acted as my director throughout it this
research program and has been an active participant in it since its inception.
This research was supported in part by the Defense Research Board of Canada.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
|
I |
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
...
Introductory Remarks
.
Mental Fatigue
.
Cortical Satiation
. Inhibition
and Extinction
..
Concluding Remarks
.. |
1 1 4 7 12 15 |
|
II |
THE PHENOMENON OF SEMANTIC SATIATION
..
Verbal Satiation
.. The
Semantic Differential
The
Phenomenon of Semantic Satiation
Summary
|
18 18 22 25 35 |
|
III |
SOME THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
.. The
Psychological Meaning of Meaning
. Osgoods Mediation Theory of
Meaning
.
Changes in the Intensity of Meaning
... |
37 37 39 49 |
|
IV |
SEMANTIC SATIATION IN THINKING
.. The
Problem
. Summary
.. |
55 55 64 |
|
V |
SEMANTIC SATIATION IN PROBLEM SOLVING
..
Concept Formation Task
.
Problem Solving
...
Summary
.. |
65 65 80 87 |
|
VI |
MEDIATED SATIATION IN SYMBOLIC PROCESSES
.
Generalization of Semantic Satiation
.
Mediated Inhibition in Verbal Transfer
Semantic Satiation Among Bilinguals
Summary
. |
89 89 89 102 118 |
|
VII |
STIMULUS CHARACTERISTICS AS DETERMINANTS OF
SEMANTIC SATIATION
.
Statement of the Problem
..
Summary
. |
121 121 136 |
|
VIII |
THE EFFECTS OF REPETITION IN COMMUNICATION AND SOME
CONSIDERATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO
SATIATION
. The
Molar Approach
Repetition in Mass Media
A
Study on Hit Parade Songs
Individual Differences in Semantic Satiability
..
Reliability
..
Repeated Testing with the Semantic Differential
A
Replication Attempt
. Summary
. |
138 138 139 146 157 158 163 166 173 |
|
IX |
SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW
.
Chapter I
..
Chapter II
.
Chapter III
. Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
..
Chapter VIII
..
Overview
. Direction of Future
Research
BIBLIOGRAPHY
|
175 175 175 176 177 178 179 181 182 183 183 187 |
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
|
1 |
ILLUSTRATION OF A SEMANTIC PROFILE
. |
25 |
|
2 |
AVERAGE CHANGE IN POLARITY PER WORD OVER THE SUM OF
9 SCALES
|
30 |
|
3 |
H TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE BETWEEN CONDITIONS
. |
31 |
|
4 |
AVERAGE CHANGE IN POLARITY PER WORD OVER THE SUM OF
6 SCALES (N = 23)
.. |
60 |
|
5 |
H TESTS OF SIGNIGICANCE BETWEEN CONDITIONS
|
62 |
|
6 |
WORDS USED IN THE CONCEPT FORMATION TASKS AND IN
THE SEMANTIC SATIATION TREATMENT
. |
69 |
|
7 |
DISTUBUTION OF CLASSIFICATIONS PER TYPE (S =
SEMANTIC, P = PHONETOGRAPHIC, I = IDIOSYNCRATIC) AND LATENCIES IN SECONDS FOR
THE SEVEN TASKS FOR BOTH GROUPS
|
73 |
|
8 |
2 X 2 TABLES SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF PHONETOGRAPHIC
(P), SEMANTIC (S), AND IDIOSYNCRATIC (I) CLASSIFICATIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL
(E) AND CONTROL ( C ) GROUPS
. |
75 |
|
9 |
NUMBER OF Ss IN THE EXPERIMENTAL (E) AND CONTROL (
C ) GROUPS SHOWING A PREPONDERANCE OF PHONETOGRAPHIC VS. OTHER (SEMANTIC OR IDIOSYNCRATIC)
CLASSIFICATIONS
... |
77 |
|
10 |
SATIATION SCORES PER WORD OVER THE SUM OF 4 SCALES
FOR THE TWO GROUPS
|
79 |
|
11 |
AVERAGE AND MEDIAN SATIATION SCORES FOR THE GROUP
(N = 33)
.. |
86 |
|
12 |
ILLUSTRATION OF THE DESIGN USED IN THE
EXPERIMENT
.. |
92 |
|
13 |
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL
GROUPS ON THE VARIOUS CONDITIONS
|
95 |
|
14 |
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MEDIATOR NONSATIATED (A1-Dn) AND MEDIATOR SATIATED (A1-Ds) CONDITIONS OF LIST 2
FOR GROUPS E AND C
. |
99 |
|
15 |
SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE PROCEDURE
. |
105 |
|
16 |
INITIAL SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL POLARITY AND MEAN CHANGE
IN POLARITY OVER THE SUM OF TWO WORDS AND 5 SCALES FOR THE COMPOUND AND
COORDINATE GROUPS
. |
110 |
|
17 |
AVERAGE CHANGES IN POLARITY OVER THE SUM OF TWO
WORDS AND 5 SCALES FOR THE COMPOUND GROUP ON THREE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS
|
119 |
|
18 |
RELEVANT (+) AND NON-RLEVANT (-) DIMENSIONS FOR THE
FOUR TYPES OF STIMULI USED
.. |
123 |
|
19 |
DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURE AND MATERIALS USED FOR
GROUP 1
|
125 |
|
20 |
MEAN POLARITY SCORES (INITIAL, FINAL, AND
DIFFERENCE) PER STIMULUS OVER THE SUM OF 6 SCALES FOR ALL 4 GROUPS (N = 22
FOR EACH GROUP)
. |
129 |
|
21 |
RAW DATA ON HIT PARADE SONGS
... |
153 |
|
21 |
(CONT.) RAW DATA ON HIT PARADE SONGS
... |
154 |
|
22 |
PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATRION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN
THE VARIOUS MEASURES USED FOR THE HIT PARADE SONGS (N = 33) |
155 |
|
23 |
INTERCORRELATION AMONG TEST-RETEST SEMANTIC SATIATION
SCORES, SUCCESS IN FRENCH, AND IQ (N = 30)
.. |
160 |
|
24 |
INTERCORRELATRIONS AMONG SEVEN VARIABLES USED WITH
MALE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
. |
170 |
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
|
1 |
Mean intial and final extremity of ratings
for each of the four groups (entries are averages per stimulus over the sum
of 6 scales)
.. |
131 |
|
2 |
Direction and amount of semantic changes with repeated presentation as
a function of stimulus specificity (entries are averages per stimulus over
the sum of 6 scales)
... |
132 |
|
3 |
Polarity scores as a function of repeated testing with the semantic differential
(high school males)
.. |
164 |
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Introductory
Remarks.
At the 1916 meeting of the American Psychological
Association in New York City, Raymond Dodge delivered the presidential
address entitled The Laws of Relative Fatigue. His words set the tone for the
historical background of this thesis.
Certainly few psychological subjects
have so widely interested investigators in the allied sciences. Few sects to
have at once such far reaching bearings on psychological theory and the conduct
of human affairs. Few present such a bewildering literature, with such an array
of apparently mutually contradictory experimental results. None is more
confused with an equal pressure for practical working rules. Confusion and
eagerness for practical results make a situation fraught with great peril to
science. If anything could, they justify this attempt to clarify and systematize
the fundamental concept of mental fatigue (Dodge, 1917, p. 89).
For students of the present generation, Dodges
statement may seem very puzzling. What is this allimportant and pervasive
phenomenon, which he does not even feel, needs a definition? The concept of
mental fatigue is so familiar that a precise analysis of its differentia has
seldom seemed necessary (p. 93). One cannot find an explanation in modern
textbooks. Mental fatigue does not appear in the index, or for that matter,
anywhere else in the body of the textbook. Our first reaction, then, might be
to dismiss Dodge with a shrug and relegate his statement to the unfashionable
world of mentalistic psychology. However, in the
opine ion of at least the present writer, it would be committing a grave
error. It is the purpose of the Present chapter to show that the topic of mental
fatigue is very much alive and of interest today and has always occupied an
important role in psychology, although its name has varied over the years,
reflecting changes in theoretical biases from era to era. A quotation from a recent paper by two modern
neurologists helps to bridge the gap of the years:
If a drop of water falls on the surface of the sea
Just
over the flowerlike disc of a sea anemone, the whole animal contracts
vigorously. If, then, a second drop falls with in a few minutes of the first,
there is less contraction, and finally, on the third or fourth drop, the
response disappears altogether. Here, is clearly exhibited one of the most
pervasive phenomena of the animal kingdom decrement of response with repeated
stimulation. Almost every species studied, from amoeba to man, exhibits some
form of response decrement when the stimulus is frequently repeated or
constantly applied. The ubiquity of the phenomenon plus its obvious survival
value suggests that this kind of plasticity must be one of the most fundamental
properties of animal behavior (Sharpless and Jasper,
1956, p. 655).
The reader can of course appreciate that Dodges
mental fatigue and Sharpless and Jaspers
"habituation" both refer to the same phenomenon. Throughout the rest
of this chapter, it will become apparent that many other names have been used
for what appears to be essentially the same process: inhibition
(Herbert, 1824, in Boring, 1950), refractory phase and mental fatigue
(Dodge, 1917; 1926a), lapse of meaning (Bassett and Warne, 1919), work
decrement (Robinson and Bills, 1926), cortical inhibition (Pavlov, 192?),
adaptation (Gibson, 1937), extinction (Hilgard
and Marquis, 1940), satiation (Kohler and Wallach, 1940),
reactive inhibition (Hull, 19113), stimulus satiation (Glanzer,
1953), reminiscence (Eysenck, 1956), verbal satiation
(Smith and Raygor, 1956), and verbal transformation
(Warren, 1961b).1 Such an enumeration of terms, taken over a wide
period of time, shows the interest which the problem of decreased
responsiveness with repeated stimulation has claimed in psychology. To be sure,
the variety itself of the terms used insures a high degree of disagreement and
confusion on the subject. Many of the theories proposed over the years have
been discarded for new ones, which in turn were replaced by others. In the
present work, another term and supporting
1The authors
enumerated here are not necessarily the inventors of the specific terms quoted.
They represent investigators or reviewers who have studied the effects of
repeated stimulation and these are the specific terms they happened to favor
to refer to the phenomenon.
Theory will be added to the
preceding ones in the belief that they are more appropriate and useful for
interpreting various forms of behavior.
Furthermore, the present theory will be stated in the language of
contemporary learning theories, reflecting the recent revival of interest in
higher mental processes (see Mowrer, 1960).
Mental Fatigue.
Early in the 19th century, Herbart
attempted to formulate a mechanics of ideas which, according to Dodge
(1926a), represented the most extensive use of the concept of inhibition up
to his time. Herbart
(1824, in Boring, 1950) tried to account for the basic fact that the span of
consciousness was limited and could encompass only a few ideas at a time. He wrote involved mathematical equations to
explain how ideas of various strengths could inhibit one another. Dodge (1926a; b) has reviewed the history of
inhibition and attributes its scientific beginnings to the discovery in 1838 of
the effect of the vagus nerve upon the heart, which
demonstrated the inhibitory influence of higher nervous centers on reflex
activity. His own work on the
refractory phase and mental fatigue will introduce us to a phase of
psychology which, so productive at the beginning, has itself become refractory,
if one examines the amount of more recent research on the topic done since in
this area.
Dodge (1927)
extensively investigated changes in the strength and amplitude of repeatedly
elicited motor responses. He attributed
decreases in motor output (e.g. amplitude of the kite Jerk) to a refractory
phase of the nerve and consistently found individual
differences which be believed were the key to human variability. He also
recognized a similar effect in mental processes. In his two "laws
of mental fatigue" (Dodge, 1917) he sought to relate the amount of fatigue
decrement of a response to the intensity of the stimulus. He also believed
that the same phenomena operated at the level of society, reflecting itself in
changes in art forms and science, in popular songs and fads, in the
"wearing off" of novelty, and in social unrest and changes in
government.
Other
researchers at about the sane time were working on similar problems. Thorndike
(1927) noted that when subjects (ft.) were asked to write down a series of
numbers, they usually did not use the same number twice in succession. He
related this negative tendency to the refractory process. Thorndike (1917) and Poffenberger (1928) investigated the effects of continuous
repetitive work upon the output and feelings of and found complex relationships
which varied with the type of task involved, Telford (1931) examined the
refractory phase in voluntary responses and argued that they exhibit the same
three phases as the individual nerve fiber, namely absolute and relative
refractory, and supernormal phases of excitability.2
Robinson and bills (1926) have attempted to show that homogeneous tasks
(e.g. naming letters) suffer from greater work decrement with repetition than
to heterogeneous tasks. Robinson (1934) also formulated other principles
governing work decrement such as recency and frequency of stimulation, 3 number
of competing responses to the same stimulus, and quantitative and qualitative
changes in the stimulus situation.
At about this time, the implications of Lashleys work on the equipotentiality
of brain tissue was beginning to be understood in psychology. Mary Robinson
(1931) pointed out the inconsistency of a simple refractory phase theory of mental
fatigue with Lashleys discovery that the locus of
the
2The
absolute refractory phase refers to the short period immediately following
stimulation during which it is impossible to elicit the same response. This
period is followed by the relative refractory phase during which the response
can be elicited only by a stronger than normal stimulus. During the supernormal
phase that follows next, the response can be elicited by a weaker than normal
stimulus. The latter is finally succeeded by the normal state of excitability.
3Note
that the principles of recency and frequency of stimulation also play an
important role in learning.
lesions in the brain is unimportant
for the retention of habits, suggesting that stimulation must involve the
activation of a whole set or pattern of firings rather than the excitation of
single neurons. Her suggestion that mental activity represents the continued
firings of integrated neuronal patterns antedates more recent theories of
cortical activity (e.g. Hebb, 1949) and is corroborated by the modern methods
of recording the electrical activity of the brain (e.g. EEG potentials as
recorded with the electroencephalogram).
Cortical Satiation.
Mary Robinsons insight introduces the second aspect of the response
decrement phenomenon, i.e. the cortical satiation theories. James Gibson in
1937 made a generalized statement of sensory adaptation, which serves as a link
between the refractory phase hypotheses as discussed above, and the satiation
phenomena to be discussed next. Gibson argued that if a sensory process is
persistently active for some time, its quality will diminish. For example,
continued inspection of a color patch results in a decrease of its apparent
saturation and the color is seen as more neutral. Furthermore, "whenever
experiential qualities fall into an oppositionseries the adaptation with
negative aftereffect may be expected to occurs (Gibson, 2.93v, p. 225). Thus,
if a S persistently fixates a curved line, its
curvature will decrease; then, if a straight
line is presented in the same visual region, it appears curved the
other way. This adaptation effect seems to be a general characteristic of all
sensory processes (see Helson, 1947). While Gibson
was unwilling at the time to speculate on the neurophysiological implications
of his adaptation law, other researchers had no such inhibitions. Kohler and Wallach (1940) elaborated a cortical satiation theory in
terms of nonneural electrical field forces which eventuated in the brain as a
result of continued fixation in the visual field. Osgood and Heyer (1951) attempted to account for the same phenomenon
in terms of differential distributions of neuronal excitation. Kohler and fish
back (1950a; b) showed that the well known Muller-Lyer
illusion can be destroyed by the repeated presentation of the twoheaded
arrows. However, the compulsive illusion returns after a rest period during
which satiation is presumed to dissipate. The decrement of the illusion, which
occurs after continued visual presentation, has been shown by Rudel (l960) to transfer to the tactile modality when the
appropriate methods of presentations are used. Wertheimer (1958) bas presented
data which suggests that satiation in figural aftereffects can last for
several months. Shapiro (1954) found that perception of apparent motion could
be -hindered by continued stimulation in the visual field. In the article mentioned at the beginning of
the chapter, the neurologists Sharpless and Jasper
(1956) show that the arousal reaction of a sleeping cat to a specific tone can
be eliminated when the tone is presented a number of times. "Habituation
to the stimulus is indicated by the fact that, after a few presentations, the
tone no longer elicits a characteristic REG potential in the sleeping cat. The
habituation is specific since a tone of different frequency still Elicits an
arousal reaction.
The work of Karsten 41928)
and Lounin (1941) introduce an important elaboration
of the notion et response decrement, that is, its relation personality
variables. Anitra Karsten
(1928) had her Ss repeatedly perform various tasks such as drawing, writing
letters of the alphabet, Veading1 and
turning a wheel. She noted, as one might expect under such conditions, a
decrease in the quality of work and an increase in the num ber
of errors made, But she also observed a disintegration and loss of meaning
of the tasks, " and an increase in the attractiveness of different
activities, as well as frequent emotionaL outbursts
and expressions of dislike of the ongoing activity. She attributes these
reactions te satiation of the ongoing activity, as
distinguished from purely muscular fatigue. If the meaning of the same activity
is changed through verbal instruction, the effects of satiation immediately
disappear and tite continues the task without
requiring a rest. Kounin . (1941) investigated the
effects of chronological age and intelligence upon cosatiation,
i. e. the transfer of the satiaUon effect of one repeatedly performed task upon
another similar task. As Deutsch (1954) puts it continued performance
on a task leads to a lowering of
tension in the psychological "system" corresponding to that task; wttb increasing repetition the tenethn
in the active system rachis a lower level than that in surrounding Systems
which, prompts the person to. turn to other activities With time, systems which
are interdependent (e.g. those underlying similar tasks) also reach a
tower level of tension so that the person looks for even more novel tasks. The
degree of differentiation and rigidity of tension systems is said to be
related in specified ways to chronological and mental
Various investigators bave
made an attempt to relate still other measures of satiation to personality
variables. A review of their work leads to a discussion of the third interpretation
of effects. ef repeated stimulatiofl.,
4Shallenberger and
Zigler (1961)
have recently presented a contrasting view of these and similar findings which
views the S's type of social motivation in the task (negative or
positive) as the determining factor in cosatiation.
Eysenck (1955; 1956) has formulated a theory of personality
drawn from Pavlovs notions of. cortical inhibition and
"types" of excitability, a matter which we will consider .. shortty. Eysenck's thesis is
that learning and personality Variables ars
determined by an "inhibition/excitation balance which is said to
be a unique characteristic of each persons central nervous system. He has attemp ted to show . that various
measures of satiation (e.g. reminiscence in pursuit rotor tasks, visual and kinaesthetic after-effects). are related to each other and
-to scores on personality inventories of extraversion" and
"introversion. Lipwan and spits (1959) have
tried with only limited success to demonstrate similar relationships. They
have, also found signifteant di
fferences between normals
and "mental retardates on extent of satiation in kinesthetic f igural aftereffects (Spitz and Lipman,
1961). It should be mentioned that several investigators (e.g. Rechtschaffen, 1958, Becker, 1960) have failed to replicate
some of these relation ships and do not believe that the hypotheses advanced by
Eysenck are tenable. Others have advanced different
but related theories, such as Wertheimers
(Wertheimer and Werts hoimer,
1954) "cortical modifiability" hypothesis. Duncan (1956) has also
noted the similarity between satiation and inhibition measures and believes
they are different aspects of the same phenomenon in contrast to these
conceptualization, Glanzer s (1953) stimulus satiation
construct refers exclusively to a sensory adaptation process and is
explicitly dissociated from other inhibition processes such as response
produced reactive inhibition normally associated with reminiscence.
Inhibition and Extinction.
The effects of repeated stimulation become of
interest to the most contemporary behavior theories. The most explicit and format statement of
what happens when a response is repeatedly made can be attributed to Clark Hull
(1943). His Postulates can be paraphrased as follows:
Whenever a reaction is evoked in the
organism there ensues a primary negative, drive (D); (i)
this has an innate capacity (IR) to inhibit the reaction potential (SER)
to that response; (ii) the amount of net inhibition (IR) which is generated is
a simple linear increasing function of the number of evocations (n), and (iii)
it is a positively accelerated function of the work (w) involved in the
execution of the response; (iv) reactive inhibition (IR) spontaneously
dissipates as a simple negative function of time (t).
The reader will recall that Robinson (1934) in his principles
governing work decrement had already referred to some of the same relations,
and before him Dodge (1917) had also pointed out the relation of stimulus
intensity to degree of refractory phase.
And we have seen how several other authors have dealt with similar
relationships. Hulls concept of
reactive inhibition is important because many of the current theories about
language and concept formation use a Hullian
framework as their basic learning paradigm. These newer formulation deal more
explicitly and extensively with thinking and the nature at language while still
retaining Hull s theoretical constructs.
Hulls thinking, in turn, is based on Ivan Pavlovs
(1927) research and theory of the conditioned response. Pavlov described all
learning, human and animal, in terms of two fundamental
properties of the nervous system. The
first of these relates to the increase in the probability of a response
(conditioning), while the second is concerned with the decreased probability of
responding (inhibition). It is with the
latter aspect of learning that we are primarily concerned. According to Hilgard and Marquis (1940) inhibition can be defined as
the reduction in strength of response resulting from positive stimulation of
some sort (p, 101). Inhibition is thus logically allied with refractory phase
and satiation. The phrase experimental
extinction was used by Pavlov to refer to an experimental procedure whereby a
conditioned response (CR) decreases in amplitude and frequency of occurrences
as a result of repeated non-reinforced repetition. His explanation of
extinction was in terms of an internal inhibition or an adaptation of neural
processes and their spread in the brain. Pavlovs physiological hypotheses of
irradiation of inhibitory and excitatory waves in the brain reminds one of
Kohler and Wallachs (l940) electrical field theories
mentioned earlier, even though in detail, the two theories have little in
common. Pavlovs distinction between excitable and inhibitory types of
organisms, those that are easily conditionable and
those that are resistant to conditioning, has been amplified by Eysenck (1955; 1956), as mentioned previously.5 Rather than elaborate these theories
(in this connection see Hilgard and Marquis, 1940; Razran, 1939; and Wenger, 1937, for examples), the point of
importance to be made here is that these various conceptualizations are
logically related and contribute to a general, theoretical scheme which
influences most contemporary behavior theories.
Razran in 1939 has criticized the various
theories on the nature of the extinctive process and has reviewed in detail
the available data pertaining to extinction today, the debate is still very
much alive. For example, the relation
between extinction in human subjects and the following variables are being
studied psychoticism
5For the sake of completion we might mention
here the Freudian concept of repression which has sometimes been considered a
mechanism of inhibition. However, this psychoanalytic flew of inhibition
relates to a motivational aspect of response competition or elimination rather
than response decrement through repetition, and is therefore less
relevant.
(Vernables and Tizard, 1936), amount of training (Capaldi,
1958; Senko, Champ, and Capaldi, 1961) and over
learning (Murillo and Capaldi, 1961), type of
interpolated activity, (Liberman, 1944), degree of
reinforcement (Lewis and Duncan, l956), as well as motivational effects (Horwitz, Exline, Goldman and Lee,
1959).
Concluding Remarks
Some of
the evidence and relevant theoretical considerations concerning the effects of
repeated presentational stimuli and repeated elicitation of responses have been
outlined. It was argued that, whether referred to as satiation, inhibition, or
extinction, essentially the same phenomenon was being considered: a reduction
in the likelihood of responding as a result of repeated stimulation of the
organism. Since efficient learning, in most cases, requires practice
and repeated responding, it may appear that the concomitant inhibitory process
is an undesirable adjunct. After a more careful consideration of the facts,
however, one can comprehend the homeostatic functions served by
inhibition. This is obvious in purely
motor responses where continued and unrestricted output would soon lead to irreversible
tissue damage were it not for the warning signs of physiological fatigue. But
this must also be true, although perhaps less obviously so, for mental
activity which reflects the neurophysiological output of brain cells. Glickman (1961) has
recently reaffirmed a long standing
belief that memory is a physiological entity in the form of nemomic
traces, and the experiments of Penfield and Roberts (1960) on cortical
stimulation of the conscious and fully awakened patient leaves them in no doubt
as to the recording of experiences in brain cells. Neal Miller (1959) and Mowrer
(1961) have recently affirmed that the basic stimulus-response laws already
demonstrated with more directly observable behavior must also apply to thinking
processes, while Osgoods (1953) two-stage mediated theory implicitly makes the
same assumption. Dodge has also held
this position even though he did not have the benefit of modern evidence. He was aware of the possible survival value
of mental fatigue:
I
suppose all the phenomena of restlessness and the corresponding attractiveness
of change finally reduce to competition and the relative refractory phase. They
operate in work and play, in social and economic activities, in politics and
religion. Without their interference in
our lives, unwelcome as it often is, we must have continued indefinitely in the
direction of our first activity, with the consequent loss of that vital
equilibrium on which the organism as a unit of different parts depends for its
continued existence. Without their
interference the initial process must always work itself out to the final
collapse of complete exhaustion (Dodge, 1917, p. 112).
But in addition to this interference role, response
decrement following repetition may also play an important positive role in
learning. Walker (1958) has argued that
action decrement, by preventing further responding, permits memory traces to be
consolidated and in this sense it helps rather than binders response
acquisition. In fact, he has argued that the greater the decrement after
responding the greater also is the learning that takes place. In the chapters,
that follow, we shall be concerned primarily with the effects of repeated
stimulation upon thinking as indexed by various measures such as the efficient
use of language symbols and words, verbal learning, concept formation, and mass
communication. Our plan will be to present first a contemporary behavioral
model for language behavior and thinking. This model will serve as a reference
for the various experiments to be reported. It will also help to
integrate the evidence and point up its significance for the behavior of the
Organism as a whole.
CHAPTER II
THE PHENOMENON OF SEMANTIC SATIATION
Verbal Satitation
In 1907 there appeared a technical
report from Titcheners laboratory on phenomenon
which, it will be see at one, is related to our descriptions of the effects of
repeated stimulation, but which actually antedates Dodges work on refractory
phase and mental fatigue. Here is how
the authors introduced their findings:
The phenomenon is
one that is familiar to most people, but has never, as far as we are aware,
been made the subject of experimental study.
If a printed word is looked at steadily for some little time, it will be
found to take on a curiously strange and foreign aspect. This loss of familiarity in its appearance
sometimes makes it look like a word in another language, sometimes proceeds
further until the word is a mere collection of letters, and occasionally
reaches the extreme where the letters themselves look like meaningless marks on
the paper. In the present study we have
attempted to observe this process in detail and under experimental control
(Severance and Washburn, 1907, p. 182).
These authors refer to these changes as the loss of
associative power in words after long fixation. Later researchers have also referred to the
same process as a lapse of meaning and labeled it verbal satiation.
From the present point of view it is argued
that the phenomenon of verbal satiation is of major importance in as much as
human thinking and communication are mediated by verbal symbols.6 In fact, the various evidence to be presented
will be concerned with how the reduction in the meaningfulness of symbols
through their repeated presentation affects thinking. It will therefore be profitable to briefly
review the earlier studies on verbal satiation.
Two other studies carried out in Titcheners
laboratory on the phenomenon of lapse of meaning with repetition have been
reported (Bassett and Warne, 1919; Don and Weld, 1924). The interpretation of the phenomenon in all
cases was in terms of Titcheners (1915) context
theory of meaning which contends that the meaning of a word which is normally attached
to the sound of a word is detached through repetition. It is interesting to note that Gibson, whom
we have mentioned earlier in connection with adaptation, also interpreted
verbal satiation in similar terms (Gibson, 1950). In the original experiment by Severance and
Washburn (1907) where the phenomenon was first reported, as well as in the
study by Don and Weld (1924), reference was made to the similarity between
verbal satiation and the method of auto-hypnosis whereby a narrowing of the
field of consciousness is brought
_________________________
6 Many psychologists have argued that speech is a crucial controlling
factor in all psychological processes in human being. Once recent example is to be found in the
book by G. A. Miller, E. Gallanter, and K. H. Pribram (1960).
About by concentration of attention upon a single
visual point. Recently Wertheimer (1960)
and his associates have corroborated and extended the early findings of
Titchener group on verbal satiation.
They have investigated the relation between the rate of lapse of meaning
of a word and its length (Wertheimer and Gillis, 1958), its emotionality (Wertheirmer, Burns and Gillis, 1957), and the fittingness
of its sound (Wertheimer, 1958). Mason
(1941) has reported a change in GSR at the precise moment at which the meaning
of a word lapses. Smith and Raygor (1956) and Wertheimer and Crow (1959) have found
correlations between individual differences of the extent to which they exhibit
the verbal satiation effect and other personality variables in the former
case a factor of permeability as measured by a quetionnaire-ty0pe
personality inventory, in the latter case, a factor of modifiability as
indexed by variability in tests of figural after-effects. Warren(1961a; b) has recently described a
most interesting phenomenon which seems to be an auditory analogue of the
visual reversible figure. It is obtained
when a S listens to the repeated presentation of a word or short phrase
produced by a closed loop of tape and played on a tape recorder. The verbal transformation effect, as Warren
calls it, its exhibited by systematic changes in the words that the S hears. Warren (1961a) found differences between
young adults and the aged in the rate and pattern of these illusory changes.
A few investigators have studied the
disruptive effect of repetition in verbal learning. Peak and Deese
(1937) and Gaynor (1954) have shown that repeated
presentation of the stimulus member of a previously learned paired-associate
list of nonsense syllables results in less efficient recall of the response
members as compared to stimuli which were presented less often. Kanungo, Lambert,
and Mauer (1960) have demonstrated a similar effect
with repetition of the response members of meaningful paired words.7
Among the large number of studies in the
literature on various aspects of verbal behavior only handful are concerned
with verbal satiation. It is our belief
that this paucity of research on such a commonly known phenomenon8
is
_____________________
7 These results seem to contradict the well established principle of
learning that performance increases with number of trials the
excitation/inhibition paradox we have discussed in the preceding chapter. As will be pointed out in later chapter, the
findings of verbal satiation effects in learning require an extension of
frequency law in conditioning, perhaps in the form of a modification of the
well-known learning curve into an inverted U distribution.
8 The continuous repetition of words with the intent of noting the
resulting changes in their sound and meaning is still today a popular
childrens game.
due not to the lack of interest of the students of
verbal behavior but rather to the lack of an objective instrument for the
measurement of changes in the meaning of symbols. When introspection was still a respectable
method of investigation in psychology, it might have been acceptable to make
the lapse of meaning of a word the object of a scientific investigation. But following Titcheners
era in American psychology such an undertaking was sure to be frowned upon by
the psychological communtiy.9 What was needed was an objective an reliable
tool to measure changes in the meaning of words. Recently, Osgood and his associates (Osgood, Souci, and Tannenbaum, 1957) have
developed an instrument called the semantic differential which seems to meet
the above need.
The Semantic Differential.
For the past three or four years this
instrument has come to be known and widely used for the measurement of the
meaning of stimuli, and has proven to be a useful and versatile tool for
psychologists, as dozens of experiments appearing in the literature have
demonstrated. As often happens with
methodological
_____________________
9 In the more recent studies on verbal satiation mentioned earlier,
attempts were made to measure the effect of objectively e.g. a push of a lever
at the time meaning lapses, measures of commonality of associative responses
after repetition, efficiency in verbal learning, etc. However, no direct measure of degree of
meaning change was available.
advances, the principle involved is remarkably
simple. The semantic differential
consists of a set of pairs of adjectival antonyms separated by seven points or
degrees of appropriateness on which the S is required to rate words,
concepts, phrases, objects, or in fact, any item the experimenter wants to have
evaluated. The choice of the bipolar
scales is determined by their appropriateness to the particular stimuli under
study. An example of a typical form of
the semantic differential is given in Table 1.
The seven points on each scale are defined as extremely, very, and
slightly, on either side of the pole with the middle position as neutral,
irrelevant, or meaningless, Each scale
can be quantified by assigning a number 1 to 7 to its respective positions, or
what amounts to the same thing, the numbers +3 to 3, with 0 as the middle position.10 In this
manner a persons meaning of a symbol or object can be indexed by his mean
profile score on a set of scales appropriately chosen in accordance with the
principles laid down in the book The Measurement of Meaning by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum (1957). The great usefulness of the semantic
differential is perhaps due to the fact that a substantial amount of the
variance of connotative meaning can be
_______________________
10 Jenkins and Russell (1956) have shown that the
degree of polarity or extremity of ratings from 0 to 3 on the semantic
differential is correlated substantially (r _ .71) with meaningfulness as
defined by Nobles (1952) associative index, m.
accounted for by only three independent factors,
identified as evaluation (good-bad), potency (strong-weak), and activity
(active-passive). Osgood (1961) has
presented convincing evidence that this simplicity of structure is a universal
characteristic of human thinking and is exhibited by all of the cultural groups
and languages so far studied.11
An examination of the scales in Table 1
reveals that we are dealing here with the connotative meaning of stimuli as
opposed to the denotative meaning of words as presented in a dictionary. This is not necessarily a handicap, for as
will be pointed out, the connotative meaning of symbols plays a major role in
mediating most psychological processes.
Nevertheless, it will be useful, and less confusing, to keep in mind
that we are using the word meaning in this special sense.
The Phenomenon of Semantic Satiation.
If a S is requested to indicate
the placement of a word on a semantic dimension immediately after continuously
repeating that word, his ratings should fall at the middle (zero) point of the
dimension if a total lapse of meaning has occurred. The semantic differential permits one to
assess such decreases
____________________
11 It should be mentioned that at least one critic (Carroll, 1959) has
contended the opposite of what is asserted here, and has argued that the small
number of components limits the usefulness and validity of the semantic
differential.
of meaning, not only total lapses but also smaller
modifications in meaning profiles. Thus,
if under normal conditions S considers the word father and assigns to
it position +3 on an evaluative dimension (extremely good) and then, after
continuous repetition of the word father assigns it to position +1 (slightly
good), we will infer, when consideration is given to various controls, that
the connotative meaning of the concept father has decreased (in this case, about two-thirds) on this
dimension (see Table 1).
Three groups of college students were
tested individually under several different conditions. As each S (with the exception of those
in the retest control group, see below) came to the experimental room, he was
asked to fill out a booklet in which he rated five words (child, me rich,
truth, family). Each on nine semantic scales (three scales for each of the
three most prominent factors determined by Osgood, et. Al. (1957). Then, each S, depending on the
condition to which he was assigned, followed a procedure outlined below. Each
of the five words and each scale was printed on a separate 5 by 3-in.
card. The cards were placed in a Kardex folder so that the experimenter (E) could expose
them in a predetermined order.
The following four conditions were used:
Experimental Satiation. For each of
the 22 Ss in this group, a word was first exposed for about 1 sec. and S
was asked to say the word aloud for 15 sec. at a rate of 2 to 3 repetitions
per second. Then E immediately exposed a
scale and S made his rating by pointing to one of the positions on the
7-point dimension. This was done for all
words on all scales, a total of 45 responses per S. The order of presentation maximized the
separation of the reoccurrence of each word and each scale. The initial and final ratings were
subsequently compared.
Silence Control. The same
procedure was used with 19 other Ss with the exception of one change:
The Ss did not repeat aloud the words during the 15-sec. interval which
elapsed between the time of exposure of the word and the semantic rating. They were initially instructed to sit and
wait until a dimension was presented.
No reference to thinking about the word was made in the instructions.
Different-word Control. The same 19 Ss
participating in the previous phase also took part in this second control
condition. Four additional words (war,
death, teacher, athlete) were added to the booklet which was filled out at the
beginning of the experimental session.
Using the same general procedure, the Ss repeated aloud in a
particular word during the time interval, but were then presented with a
different word to rate. For example, the
word key was exposed (the words used for repetition in this case were: key,
moon, shoe, and book) and S repeated it aloud for 15 sec.; then the word
war was exposed, read out loud by S who immediately gave a semantic
rating on war. This control condition
was introduced to determine what effect the act of repeating words aloud had
upon the ability of the ratings. Whereas
the previous condition is an unfilled-interval control, the present condition
is a filled-interval control.
Results. Mean
polarity-difference scores were computed for each S. These represent the changes in degree of
polarization (see Table 1) from the first testing under normal conditions and
the second testing under experimental or control conditions. The changes are presented as average changes
per word summed over all scales (in this case, nine). Thus, one S with a mean
polarity-difference of 3.6 had a total polarity score for the first testing of
102 (based on 45 ratings, 5 words on 9 scales) compared to 84 for the second
testing under the satiation condition.
The difference between these two totals, or 18, is 3.6 scale unit
changes per word. A minus sign indicates
a change from higher to lower score, i.e. a decrease in the intensity of
association between the word and the bipolar adjective. Values of zero would indicate no change and
positive scores would indicate an increase in intensity of connotative meaning.
Table 2 shows that the decrease in the
intensity of meaning occurring under the experimental satiation condition was
significantly greater than zero. Tests
of significance between the experimental and control conditions on meaning
change are presented in Table 3. The
differences between the experimental and each of the three control conditions
are significant, while none of the differences among the control conditions
reaches significance. We conclude
therefore, that the decrease of meaning (verbal satiation) obtained with the
experimental treatment is attributable to the continuous repetition of the word
just before semantic ratings were made, and not to either of three other
possible features of the experiment, namely, the unreliability of the measuring
instrument, the 15-sec. interval period, or the interpolated task of
repetition, per se.
Discussion. It is not
clear from the above results whether the satiation effect is restricted solely
to the words which are repeated or if the effect is generalized, affecting the
intensity of meaning of both the words and the bipolar adjectives, as well as
the task of making a judgment. The
finding of a decrease in intensity of meaning across the standard semantic
scales is not inconsistent with the notion of a generalized satiation effect;
if the bipolar adjectives were also satiated, they would have contributed to
the decrease in the degree of association between the repeated words and the
adjectival end points of the semantic scales.
If it could be shown, however, that Ss were also able to perceive
increases in intensity of meaning on certain scales at the time of rating, we
could argue that the inhibition effect is primarily restricted to the words
which were repeated. As a test, we
presented another group of Ss (23 male and female public school teachers
enrolled in a summer school) with two additional scales:
meaningful-meaningless and comprehensible-incomprehensible and all words were
rated on these scales as on the standard scales. These two scales should elicit a movement of
ratings towards the meaningless and incomprehensible poles following the
satiation treatment. Scores were
assigned to Ss for the amount of movement of ratings, comparing the
first testing under normal conditions with the experimental and different-word
control conditions during second testing, toward or away from the meaningless
and incomprehensible poles. It was
found that there was an average movement in the predicted direction of 1.43
scale units for the group under the satiation condition, a change which is
reliably different from zero (t=3.25, P < .02). No reliable change was noted for the control
condition (t=0.02).
These results also argue against a
regression interpretation of semantic satiation according to which the
decrease in meaning after repetition is due to the tendency of Ss
ratings to revert to the middle position of the scales. The fact that, with appropriate scales, an
increase in the intensity of ratings is obtained, is difficult to reconcile
with the regression interpretation.
Another argument against such an interpretation is the fact that where regression is usually obtained, e.g. in
perception, the tendency is to perceive that which has been seen most often in
the past. The most frequent percept
usually happens to be an object which has perceptual characteristics that are
in between those seen at the time and those perceived in the past, hence one
speaks of regression as a tendency to move towards the middle. However, in the present case, the most
frequent rating of a meaningful word is definitely not the middle
position of the semantic differential.
Hence, a tendency towards the neutral point in semantic satiation cannot
be looked upon as a regression phenomenon.
One
might also question whether Ss caught on to the fact that repetition
of a word renders it less meaningful, and consciously played along with E
by making neutral judgments. There are
several arguments against such an interpretation. Firstly, in the discussion which followed the
experiment, Ss were asked whether they thought that they had changed
their judgments as the experiment went on and whether repetition influenced
their ratings. The typical answers were
maybe or slightly, but the reason given for the change was
because I
forgot which judgment I had made previously.
Only one S stated that repetition rendered the word more
meaningless. Secondly, had Ss
wanted to please E by making neutral judgments, it is difficult to
understand why they did not go all the way and give neutral ratings in all
cases. Thirdly, when Ss were
retested for a third time, in another experiment to be presented in Chapter IV,
only those words used under the experimental condition repeatedly exhibited the
satiation effect. Since the ratings were
made on experimental and control words in a mixed order, it is improbable that Ss
could remember which were the satiation words and which were not. In fact, only three Ss could recall
the words used for each condition when questioned after the experiment.
Summary.
The phenomenon of verbal satiation, the decrease in the meaning of
symbols, was studied by having college students continuously repeat a word
before rating it along scales of the semantic differential. Changes in semantic ratings, comparing normal
and satiation conditions, indicate that there is a reliable movement of ratings
towards the meaningless pints of scales.
Control group comparisons suggest that this movement is not due to the
unreliability of the measuring instrument, to the time interval involved I
repetition, nor to the activity of repetition, per se.
There are several advantages in measuring
the effects of verbal repetition in the present manner. In the first place, as has been pointed out,
one obtains a direct and objective measure of meaning change. In the second place, the degree of meaning
change is quantified and can vary from large negative scores (i.e. a great deal
of satiation) to positive scores (i.e. a generation of meaning). Quantification permits the study of
individual differences in addition to the determination of the effects of
independent variables. Studies will be
described later in which we view semantic satiability as a personality trait
exhibiting itself in tests of conceptual rigidity, I the degree of transfer of
satiation, and in the ability to learn languages. The fact that mere repetition results in
increases of meaning (semantic generation) for certain people only, also has
implications for the study of personality.
These problems could be discussed after consideration is given to the
basic theoretical model underlying the concept of satiation.
CHAPTER III
SOME THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Psychological Meaning
of Meaning.
Reviews of the problem of meaning
have been presented elsewhere by other writers.12 My purpose is to specify the sense in which
meaning is used in the present theoretical framework.
If in the course of reading we encounter a new and
unknown word, we ordinarily consult a dictionary for standard definition. This usage of the term meaning is easily
understood. However, from the psychological
point of view this use of meaning poses difficulties. An important component of the properties of
symbols is the attitude or feeling which an individual has towards the thing
signified. The dictionary approach
neglects this fact. For example, two
individuals can agree perfectly that John Smith is a male representative of homo
sapiens with such and such physical characteristics, and yet they may
disagree completely on whether John is good, likable, sympathetic, active,
etc. Furthermore, it is
______________________________
12 See Ogden and Richards
(1923) and Morris (1946). For a more
recent treatment of the subject see Osgood, Suci, and
Tannenbaum, 1957, which represents the point of view
adopted by the present writer.
Precisely
these individual differences in feeling-tone that determine to a great extent
how others behave toward John Smith. The
same relation can be shown to hold for the connotative meaning of words. Thus, the explanation for the differential
behavior of the boy who proudly exhibits his newest pet and his elder sister
who shrieks in horror at the sight of her brothers grass snake, is not to be
found in the dictionary meaning of the word snake on which both of them may
agree. The explanation of differences in
response lies in the connotative meaning or feeling-tone which they have
acquired from differential experiences.
For one, snake means something interesting, personal, affectionate,
small, etc., while for the other, it is something bad, unpleasant, frightful,
disgusting, etc. In the same way,
disagreements among individuals on the meaning of such words as God,
freedom, radical, money, mother-in-law, etc. cannot be resolved by
consulting a dictionary. The
psychological explanation of the differential behavior in which such signs
mediate lies in differences in meaning of another type.
The particular learning experiences which antedate
such differences in meaning is in its own right an important problem in
psychology. The fact that such learning
can be duplicated in the laboratory under precise experimental conditions has
been demonstrated (see, for example, Staats,
1961). We will present a mediation
theory of symbolic processes which views meaning as a pattern of learned
(implicit) responses to conditioned stimuli, encompassing both linguistic and
non-linguistic stimuli. The advantage of
such an approach is that it treats the
meaning of words in the same manner as responses to any other stimuli, and thus
our present knowledge of learning phenomena can be brought to bear upon all
aspects of language behavior.
Osgoods
Mediation Theory of Meaning.
We can formulate the problem of meaning from the
psychological point of view within the general framework of perception and
learning. The question which arises has
two parts: (a) under what conditions does an initially novel stimulus, such as
the word apple, come to elicit responses in the organism which are
appropriate to the significate or actual object
APPLE? And, (b) under what conditions does a verbal response such as the saying
or writing of apple come to be emitted by an individual under certain
conditions? The first part of the
question relates to the problem of language decoding in particular and
perceptual learning in general, while the second part poses the problem of
language encoding and has to do with instrumental conditioning.
Pavlovs
classical conditioning experiment illustrates how a particular sign such as the
sound of a bell acquires food significance for the dog when it is repeatedly
paired with the presentation of food to the animal. At first, the sound of the bell elicits a
pattern of particular responses, such as pricking up the ears, turning the
head, etc. which are not relevant to eating behavior. When conditioning is complete, the same sound
now elicits behavior which is clearly appropriate to eating, e.g. the dog
salivates, swallows, etc., in addition to the previous responses of turning the
head, pricking up the ears, etc., which may continue to occur. Acquisition of the meaning of visual stimuli
and spoken words on the part of the young infant can be viewed to proceed along
similar lines. Thus, in the beginning,
the baby salivates and emits sucking responses only at the touch of the nipple
or some other object applied to its mouth.
Later, the sight of the bottle alone elicits responses of a similar
nature. Eventually, the words yum-yum,
bottle, food, etc. pronounced by the mother under appropriate conditions
also come to elicit responses appropriate to the significates
(BOTTLE, FOOD, etc.). At first only the
names of concrete objects can be acquired, things that can be pointed at or
stimuli that can be directly perceived.
Once a set of such meaningful signs are within the verbal repertoire of
the organism, higher order conditioning can proceed in the sense that these
signs themselves are now used to condition new signs whose significance are not
present. For example, a child can learn
the meaning of zebra as an animal that looks like a horse, but is smaller, is
wild, has black stripes, etc. (the meanings of which have been developed before),
and recognizes the animal without difficulty on his next visit to the zoo. It will be realized that most of our symbols
are of this assign nature, i.e. their meaning is literally assigned to
them via associations, not with the object represented, but with other signs
(Osgood, 1953, P.698). Without the
possibility of assigning meanings to new symbols we could not learn to
significance of abstract signs such as country, time, etc., or those that
refer to non-existent or mythical things such as ghosts, unicorn, gnome,etc.
We can describe the standard conditioning paradigm in
the acquisition of a conditioned response as follows:
S SS RX
S RT
This diagram illustrates that a conditioned
stimulus( S or the sound of the
bell) which initially elicits a particular response (RX or pricking up the
ears), comes
to
elicit another response (RT or salivating) when it is repeatedly paired with a
particular unconditioned stimulus (S or food powder in the mouth) that reliably
elicits this response (RT).
Certain serious problems arise when we attempt to apply
above conditioning paradigm to the acquisition of the meaning of symbols by
humans. In the first place, the response
which a meaningful sign elicits is not
identical with that emitted in the presence of the significate. Thus when the reader encounters the word
Fire! in a text he does not jump up and run out of the house as he would had
he seen a real FIRE. This criticism
shows the inadequacy of a simple substitution theory of meaning such as that of
Watson. In the second place, we can
listen to someone telling a story without any overt behavior on our part, which
shows that the decoding process does not involve the emission of all the
unconditioned responses to the things signified in the story. There is further overwhelming evidence, such
as that stemming from studies of semantic and mediated generalization (see, for
example, Foley and Cofer, 1943, and Riess, 1946)m which require us to use a more complex or
two-stage learning model in describing language behavior. This evidence has been reviewed elsewhere by
Osgood (1953; 1957a, b) and will not be presented here.
A two-stage model of language behavior requires only
a slight but important modification of the single-stage model. And, as will be seen, it greatly increases
the theorys capacity to explain complex phenomena. The following diagram illustrates the
development of the sign process or meaning in two stages:
S
RT
S rm sm RX
An initial meaningless sign, S , such as the word apple is paired with
the significate or object APPLE (S) which elicits a
complex set of unlearned responses (RT) such as salivating, chewing, grasping,
etc. Through the principle of
contiguity, such repeated parings result in the conditioning of fractional and
recurring part (rm) of the total response to the
sign. This fractional response elicits,
like any other response, its own characteristic stimulus through feedback (sm); this stimulus can in turn be associated with or
conditioned to an instrumental response (RX) such as pronouncing the word
apple, rating it on a semantic scale, writing it down, etc. Two important points should be noted
here. First, the meaning of a sign, i.e.
the fractional response it elicits (rm), is part of,
but not identical with, the original reaction to the significate. In other words, it is representational of
the total response. Since the
unconditioned reaction to the significate varies from
time to time (e.g. and APPLE is
sometimes eaten, sometimes held in the hand, sometimes thrown as a ball,
sometimes red and large, sometimes green and small, cooked and raw, etc.), the
meaning of the sign apple will be a composite of all these experiences, and
will vary to a certain extent from individual to individual. Given the physiological similarity of humans
and the stable conditions of a particular cultural group, one would expect that
certain words which refer to sensory qualities of objects would have common
meanings for most individuals (e.g. sweet, good, strong, fast, etc.). On the other hand, the meaning of most other
words which are less dependent upon physiological characteristics of the
organism will probably vary with the idiosyncratic experiences and
psychological makeup of the individual (e.g. father, me, justice,
liberty, etc.). The second point to be
noted is that the self-stimulation (sm) from feedback
of the fractional representational response (rm) can
be connected through reinforcement to a large variety of instrumental responses
(RX). Instrumental responses may take
the form of verbal pronunciation of a word in imitation of other members of the
language group, or the emission of another verbal response (e.g. yes or no
in answer to question), or they may be non-verbal responses such as shaking
hands, slapping someones face, smiling, etc.
Which of these responses will be emitted by any individual in a
particular situation will depend on the specific learning and reinforcing
experiences he has had in the past. In
the present theoretical framework, the overt response (RX) is taken as an
indirect measure o the inferred implicit fractional representational response (rm) or meaning.
One can now note the similarity between Osgoods
representational mediation process (rm) as
described above and Hobbs (1949) concept of the
cell assembly. Both constructs are set
up through learning principles and both are viewed as the basis of thinking in
man. For Hebb, thinking is identified
with the activation of sequences of neurological networks of cells in the
brain. For Osgood, thinking involves the
use of symbols which derive their meaning from the particular representational
mediation responses they elicit.13 In thinking, the two-stage paradigm presented
above is said to be short-circuited since no overt response (RS) is usually
emitted. Often I children this
short-circuiting process is not yet very efficient as suggested by the fact
that they often talk aloud to themselves.
The present approach offers a theoretical plan that aids one to
investigate thinking, problem solving, concept formation, and other higher
mental processes from the point of view of the use of symbols and their
interaction with each other, as well as from the point of view of the
environmental factors (either internal (emotional) or external) which affect
them.
It will be remembered that we have formulated the
psychological problem of meaning in terms of two stages, a decoding and an
encoding stage. Referring to the diagram
on p. 44, decoding is represented by the S rm
relation, while encoding is described as sm RX. In other words, decoding of a sign involves
the elicitation of a conditioned fractional representational response (rm) which is some part of the total unlearned reaction to
the significate (RT), while encoding involves the
selective evocation of acquired overt
___________________________
13 While Hebbs construct
of the cell assembly is clearly central,
the rm sm
can theoretically be either central or peripheral, or both, although the
central interpretation seems at present the more probable. Evidence on this point will be present in
Chapter IV.
Instrumental acts (RX). The problem in the measurement of meaning is
to obtain an indirect index of the implicit fractional representational
responses (rm) through the analysis of the overt
responses (RX) made to symbols. In
Osgoods theoretical schema, the semantic differential is presumed to serve as
an indirect measure of implicit representational meaning responses (rm
sm). The Ss ratings (RX) on each bipolar
scale are said to reflect the strength and direction of the inferred fractional
response which is identified with the meaning of a word. The rationale for this assertion and evidence
for the validity of the semantic differential are to be found in the work of
Osgood and his associates (Osgood, 1957a; b; 1961; Osgood, Suci,
and Tannenbaum, 1957).
It should be kept in mind that the present
theoretical framework is hypothetical, its purpose being to help generate testable
propositions at the overt behavioral level.
The following excerpts from a recent paper by Cronbach
and Meehl (1955) will help to clarify the status of
the constructs used in the theory.
We
shall refer to the interlocking system of laws which constitute a theory as a nomological network
To validate a claim that a test
measures a construct, a nomological set surrounding
the concept must exits. When a concept
is fairly new, there may be few specifiable associations by which to pin down
the concept. As research proceeds, the
construct sends out roots in many directions, which attach it to more and more
facts or other constructs, public validation is impossible
.Hence, the
investigator who proposes to establish a test as a measure of a construct must
specify his network or theory sufficiently clearly that others can acceptor
reject it
.Construct validation takes place when an investigator believes that
his instrument reflects a particular construct, to which are attached certain
meanings. The proposed interpretation
generates specific testable hypotheses, which are a means of confirming or
disconfirming the claim
.If prediction and result are in harmony, he can retain
his belief that the test measures the construct. The construct is at best adopted, never
demonstrated to be correct (pp.290-294).
In
the following chapters we will present tests of predictions and hypotheses
formulated on the basis of the nomoligical network
surrounding the acquisition and extinction of the representational mediation response
(rm), or meaning.
The tests we will use represent indirect measures of the operation of
the hypothetical construct, rm, in higher mental
processes. As we proceed in our
investigation and more facts become available, we will attempt to gradually extend
the theoretical network around our main construct.
Changes
in the Intensity of Meanings.
The experimental evidence reviewed in Chapter I
documented the fact that repeated stimulation of the organism results in
decreased susceptibility to responding, and I Chapter II we have shown that
verbal repetition of familiar word results in a decrease of its meaning as
measured by the semantic differential.
We can now examine the problem of decreased responsiveness with
repetition when meaning is viewed as the acquired representational response.
Similar to all conditioning processes, the
acquisition of the meaning of a sign requires the repeated pairing of the
conditioned stimulus (CS or the word) with the unconditioned stimulus (US or
the signifacte).
The first point to be noted is that the successive pairing of US and CS
should be distributed over time, since massed repetitions would result in the
suppression of the unconditioned response (UR), and consequently learning will
be comparatively less efficient. In the
second place, once learning has reached a certain point where presumably a
particular sign elicits a characteristic meaning response, massed presentation
of the sign will result in the inhibition of its meaning response, and the sign
will consequently lose its meaning. The
results of the study of semantic satiation support the predictions and the
theoretical notions about the meaning response.
It is not clear, however, whether this decreased responsiveness is
momentary or permanent to the extent that one might have to relearn the meaning
of the sign. This question calls for an
inquiry into the nature of the extinction and forgetting. Semantic satiation will be considered as a
cognitive form of the more general phenomenon of extinction.
Psychologists hold various views about the cause of
the forgetting of a response. Most
agree, however, that forgetting cannot be adequately explained as a reduction
of response strength through time. There
is evidence to show that interfering responses and unreinforced
or unrewarded elicitations of the conditioned response (CR) play important
roles. Rather than discuss this
interesting problem in detail, a brief enumeration will be given of some of the
conclusions reached by Hilgard and Marquis (1940) in
their classic review of the literature.
The reader will note the reappearance of the terms inhibition and
extinction in this context.
Inhibition was previously defined as the reduction in
response strength resulting from some sort of positive stimulation. A distinction can be made between intrinsic
inhibition or adaptation defined as the reduction in the likelihood of
responding as a result of continued elicitation of the response itself, and
extrinsic inhibition or interference, a reduction attributable to the
simultaneous elicitation of another, incompatible response. From available information, inhibition
exhibits the following characteristics: (a) it is cumulative, in the sense that
the more repetitions of the responses, the greater will be the decrement of
responding; (b) the greater the rate of repetition, the greater the decrement;
(c) there is recovery of the initial decrement after rest; (d) inhibition
generalizes to other, similar responses (secondary extinction); and (e) the
stimulus to an adapted response is itself inhibitory and can be used to inhibit
another response (conditioned inhibition).
The term experimental extinction was used by Pavlov to refer to an
experimental procedure in which the CR decreases as a result of repeated nonreinforced repetition.
It may involve either or both adaptation (internal inhibition) and
interference (external inhibition). In
summary, then, the reduction or elimination of learned response may be brought
about by one or more of the following:
experimental extinction, adaptation or internal inhibition (called
reactive inhibition by Hull), and interference or external inhibition (which
has also been called forgetting or retroactive inhibition).14 A response which is eliminated by
interference or counter conditioning (i.e. the conditioning of a new,
incompatible response) does not recover as long as the interfering response
subsists. On the other hand, both
adaptation and experimental extinction are followed by spontaneous recovery
of the response with the passage of time and rest.15
It will be recalled that our interpretation of
meaning and the role of symbolic processes in thinking was in terms of
representational mediation reactions that are presumed to follow the same
principles as those of overt responses.
Accordingly, information about the data on extinction processes is quite
relevant and important. Through the
study of overt responses, we have available a set of principles or laws which,
according to our assumptions, ought to also apply to the inferred processes
that are believed to go on during thinking.
Thus, semantic satiation can be conceptualized as a cognitive form of
inhibition. During continuous verbal repetition,
the mediating reactions identified with a words meaning are presumably
repeatedly and rapidly elicited. Under
such conditions we would expect that reactive inhibition or
____________________________
15 The explanation for
recovery in the two cases is different.
With adaptation, we speak of dissipation of satiation or reactive
inhibition; in the case of experimental extinction, spontaneous recovery is
related in some way to the increased effectiveness of the S-R bong, but the
theoretical explanation here has not been worked out in any detail.
Adaptation
would be generated, there by decreasing the availability of mediators. To the extent that ratings on semantic scales
accurately reflect the strength and type of meaning reactions elicited by a
sign, the development of cognitive inhibition during verbal repetition should
be exhibited as a decrease in the polarity of ratings on the semantic
differential. Our results on the phenomenon of semantic satiation have borne
out this prediction.16 In the chapters that follow further
experimental evidence will be presented supporting the notion that semantic
satiation behaves like other extinction processes.
___________________________
16 The inhibition which is
developed, as a result of verbal repetition, in the motor speech areas of lips,
tongue, larynx, etc. is also relevant to the general problem of repeated
stimulation, but has not been investigated by the present writer.
CHAPTER IV
SEMANTIC SATIATION IN THINKING
The Problem.
Whether thinking is a peripheral or central process no
longer arouses the same interest it did during the behavioristic era in
psychology. This change is due in part to the recognition that such
"either-or" questions are usually impossible to resolve, and in
part, to the influence of neurophysiological theories, which argue that, a
central theory of thought processes can be as behavioristic as a peripheral
one. We have noted that Osgood believes that the mediation process is the
meaning of a symbol. He leaves the question open as to the possible locus (loci)
of mediational responses. They may be peripheral (muscular or glandular
reactions" Osgood, 1953, p. 696) or central (purely neural
responses: Osgood, Suci,
and Tannenbaum, 1957, p. 7). In this study, we
presume that the mediation process that transmits significance to a symbol is
inhibited by the continual verbal repetition of that symbol. The fact that the
satiation effect was noted only for those experimental Ss who continuously
repeated a symbol aloud before it was rated (see the experiment in Chapter II)
suggests that the mediation process may in large part be dependent on muscular
reactions. In order to test the comparative importance of peripheral and
central components of mediation processes, one sight compare the behavior of
the experimental Ss referred to above with another group of Ss who would be
directed to think about the word presented but not to repeat it aloud. Should
each a group display the semantic satiation effect, however, one could still
argue that they actually had said the words subvocally
and no conclusive evidence would be given either the central or peripheral
possibilities.
We attempted to circumvent this
ambiguity by using another procedure, which indirectly tests the comparative
influence of peripheral responses and s central cognitive process on semantic
satiation. We assume that saying aloud meaningful word involves both
muscularglandular activity as well as some more central cognitive response as
the meaningful nature of the symbol is registered. On the other hand, saying
aloud a meaningless word with low association value involves peripheral
muscular responses accompanied by diversified cognitive activity, such as
searching for possible significance in the word or for associations with the
sound or form of the word, etc. In the case of the meaningful word, there is a
relation between the peripheral and central activities, which is mediated by
the meaning of the symbol. We argue, that the cognitive activity is only
distantly or not identifiably related to the peripheral in the ease of the
saying aloud of a meaningless word. The muscular reactions brought into play in
the continual repetition of the words canoe and nuka
(with the accent on the first syllable) are identical. (This assertion is
supported by the tact that a listener cannot determine whether is repeating
canoe or nuka once the sequence of repetition is
underway. The fact that the original peripheral feedback of the sequence nu-ka-nu-ka is different from that of the sequence ca-noe-ca-noe does not invalidate the present argument since
the rest of the two sequences are essentially identical, and hence both should
have the same effect on the peripheral responses.) The representational
mediating processes, which are elicited in the two situations, however, must be
quite different since only one is a meaningful English word. The peripheral
theory maintains that motor responses are both necessary and sufficient for
thinking. Thus the continuous repetition of nuka and
canoe," involving practically identical muscular reactions, should have a
similar satiation effect on the meaning of the word canoe." For Osgood,
whether the mediators are peripheral or central they are not of the same
form as the overt verbal response, since their character depends entirely upon
the total reactions made to the thing signified and not the mediated
verbalization. Since thinking of canoecanoe and of nukanuka hypothetic involves different mediation processes,
repetition of nuka should not lead to satiation of
canoe.
Procedure.
Twenty-three Ss (male and female public school teachers enrolled in a summer
school) were tested under three different conditions. These are described
below.
Satiation.
The procedure was identical with that used in the experimental satiation
condition in the experiment described in Chapter II, except that the words and
scales have been changed. The purpose of this condition was to attempt to
reproduce the results obtained previously as well as to serve as a comparison
condition to the other two conditions described next.
Peripheral Control. The centrality hypothesis was tested by requiring
Ss to repeat the words grony (accent on second
syllable) and nuka before semantic ratings of the
words negro and canoe, respectively. The procedure was thus identical with
the Different-word Control in the previous experiment. At the end of the
experiment each ~ was asked whether he had caught on to the fact that grony and nuka were actually
negro and canoe repeated backwards.
Nonsense Control. The effect of the repetition of a nonsense word on
semantic ratings was determined by having Ss repeat troga
and blatu before ratings of house and soldier.
There
were six words used in all (two words for each condition) and eight scales,
six of these representing the three standard factors, and two scales
representing a familiarity factor (meaningfulmeaningless;
comprehensible-incomprehensible). The ratings given for the last factor were
separately analyzed and were discussed in conjunction with the previous
experiment (see Chapter II).
Each S took part in three testings,
all given in one sitting. The first was an assessment of Ss meaning of the
words under normal conditions. The words and scales were individually exposed
in the Kardex folder and responses were recorded by E
(no booklet were used in this experiment). The second testing consisted of the
three conditions described above, and was administered immediately after the
first. The third testing, identical with the first, was given after a rest
period of 5 min. to determine whether the satiation effect dissipates with
time.
Results.
The polaritydifference scores in Table 4 are averages for the group and
represent mean changes of polarity per word on all six scales (absolute values
cannot be compared
with those in Table 2 since a
different number of scales was used in the two experiments). Entries under the Experimental column are
differences in polarity scores between the first and second testings,
whereas entries under the Dissipation column are differences in polarity scores
between first and third testings. It can be seen that significant changes in
meaning took place under the Satiation condition only. One might still argue that the initial
polarities of words in the Peripheral control and Nonsense control conditions
were already low and could not decrease further. To test this possibility, we calculated the
mean initial and polarity per word over the sum of six scales, as measured
during the first testing, for all three conditions. These were:
8.89 for the Satiation condition, 8.76 for the Peripheral control, and
9.17 for the Nonsense control. None of
these means was significantly different from any other when a signed rank test
was applied. It is evident, then, that
differences in initial polarity of the ratings cannot account for the obtained
results.
Table 5 shows that there is no significant difference
between the Experimental and Dissipation scores under the Satiation condition,
suggesting that the loss of meaning as a result of repetition persisted after a
5-min. rest (the mean dissipation score for the group obtained by subtracting
the
TABLE 5
Experimental
from the Dissipation scores us 0.19 (t = .035).
The other differences in Table 5 are in harmony with a centrality by
hypothesis of meaning.
All but one of the 23 Ss reported that they
became aware of the fact that grony) and nuka were actually negro and canoe repeated
backwards. It appears from Ss reports that repetition of grony, even though it involves the same muscular reactions,
was not the same task as repetition of negro.
As one S put it, When I was repeating grony
I was trying not to think of negro.
But when I was repeating father I kept on thinking of father. Translating this into our terminology, we can
say that, gien instructions to repeat grony, the mediating processes identified with negro
were not consistently and reliably elicited.
In view of these findings, we contend that in order to satiate the
meaning of a symbol through continuous repetition one must consistently call
into play some particular cognitive activity which is related to the symbol.
Discussion. Since present physiological techniques do not
permit one to measure directly the cellular activity of the brain, it is
technically impossible to prove the central theory of thought. Hence, as was pointed out by Osgood in his
evaluation of central and peripheral theories of thinking (1953, o,654), the
only way of possibly resolving the controversy in to present evidence which
would render the peripheral theory ( the only one testable by our present
means) untenable. We view the present
findings as supporting evidence for a central interpretation of
representational mediation processes.
The
results also indicate that the effects of the semantic 5-min. rest interval
tested. Although the satiation score
during the third testing was less than that immediately after repetition (-1.76
vs. 1.95), the difference is not significant, indicating that spontaneous
recovery is not complete.
Summary.
An experiment was described which sheds light on the
nature of meaning response, presenting evidence that it depends more on central
than peripheral-muscular activities. I
order to satiate the meaning of a symbol through continuous repetition, some
particular cognitive activity which is related was also presented which shows
that semantic satiation persists for at least several minutes.
CHAPTER V
SEMANTIC SATIATION IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Concept Formation Task.
A concept has been defined as a common
response (usually verbal) made to a class of phenomena the members of which
display certain common characteristics (Osgood, 1953, p.666). Several investigator have demonstrated that
verbal mediating responses play an important role in concept formation (e.g.Fenn and Goss, 1957; Kendler
and DAmante, 1955; Underwood and Richardson, 1956a),
and recently, Goss (1961) has attempted a theoretical integration of these
facts along Hullian lines. Previous studies have been concerned with the
transfer of a verbal response acquired prior to the concept formation task so
that its solution is facilitated. Thus
in one experiment (Mednick and Freeman, 1960), Ss
were given a paired-associate list whose response members were Kent-Rosanoff stimulus words for the concept to be developed
later in the experiment. Underwood and
Richardson (1956a) have shown that ease of concept attainment depends on the
associative strength existing between the verbal mediating response representing
the concept or class and the stimulus members of that class. These studies indicate that the availability
of the appropriate mediating response is a determining factor in the
probability of occurrence of the solution.
The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether the reduction
in the availability of particular verbal responses would affect difficulty of
concept formation task.
Method. Suppose, for example, that a S is given 12
cards on which the following words are printed:
playing, sitting, climb, remain, travel, running, walking, stroll, lie,
rest, standing, sleeping. The S
is told to classify the 12 cards into two piles of six cards each. College students, confronted with the above
task, typically categorize them as follows:
playing, running, walking, climb, travel, stroll, as one group, and
sitting, standing, sleeping, remain, lie, rest, as the other. Upon questioning, it becomes evident that
these Ss have utilized the concept of motion to categorize the
others. Children, on the other hand,
when confronted with the same task and instructions, tend to make up the
following two groups: playing, sitting,
running, walking, standing, sleeping, in one pile, with climb, remain, travel,
stroll, lie, rest, in the second. Upon
questioning, it is clear that they have made a generalization on the basis of
the physical attributes of the words such as sound (Some rhyme together,
others dont).
It might be convenient to refer to the latter as a phonetographic classification based on generalization
along physical dimensions of the stimuli, and the former as a semantic
classification based on generalization along semantic dimensions of the
stimuli. 17 Only a few of the Ss,
when confronted with the above task do not use one or the other of the two
types of classifications mentioned above.
The basis of classification in such cases is usually a highly
idiosyncratic one. For example, Ss
might make the separation in terms of agreeableness-disagreeableness of words,
short vs. long words, etc. We shall
refer to these as idiosyncratic classifications.
It was hypothesized that semantic satiation of the
verbal response which defines the concept would reduce its availability as a
mediation response in the categorization task.
Hence, a decrease in the number of semantic classifications available to
Ss should become apparent. At the
same time it was expected that satiation of the verbal concept would decrease
the likelihood of Ss perceiving semantic relations between the stimulus
words, thereby increasing the probability of phonetographic
solutions to the problem since such solutions are particularly dependent upon
purely physical characteristics of words.
The
__________________________________
17 Razran (1949) has previously used these terms.
rationale
of idiosyncratic solutions is not clear and no specific predictions could be
made as to the effect of satiation on their likelihood of occurrence.
Materials. Seven sets of 12 words were prepared in such a
way that each set could be classified into two subsets on either a semantic or
a phonetographic basis. These are presented in Table 6. The words were not selected in any systematic
fashion. An attempt was made, however,
to vary the difficulty of the classification task by changing the degree with
which the words in any one subset tend to go together. For example, both subsets in task 1 (see
Table 6) are made up of synonyms, whereas in task 7, the words in only one
subset tend to go together. It should
also be noted that the degree of constraint toward a semantic versus a phonetographic classification also varies with each
task. Thus in task 1 there is a high
constraint toward a semantic solution since there are two sets of synonyms that
do not rhyme and all words are of two syllables. In tasks 3, 4, and 7 there is a high degree
of phonetographic constraint since the words in both
subsets within each task rhyme with each other.
In task 7, rhyme, number of syllables, and low dominance level (see
Underwood and Richardson, 1956b), all tend to increase the phonetographic
constraint.
Procedure. The general procedure consisted of
administering the semantic satiation treatment individually to each S, then,
to present him with the seven classification tasks, one by one, in the order
given in Table 6. It was evident from
the literature on concept formation that the specific words used, the order of
presentation of tasks, and the specific instructions given would all influence Ss
behavior. It was decided, therefore, to
use two groups of Ss drawn from the same population, and to treat them
in an identical manner in every respect except for the particular word which
were to be repeated by the Ss during the semantic satiation
treatment. The procedure described in
Chapter II for the different-word control condition was also used here. Briefly, S repeats a word shown to him
on an index card for a period of 15 sec.
Immediately after, he is shown a second word, and is required to rate
the second word only on a semantic differential scale. As can be seen in Table 6, the experimental
and control groups differed with respect to the semantic relation between the
word repeated and the word rated. In the
experimental group, the word repeated (satiated) was identical to one of the
inferred verbal mediating responses required for a semantic classification of
the concept formation tasks given after the satiation treatment. For the control group, the satiated word was
irrelevant to the concept formation task. The rated or second word was the same
for both groups and consisted of one of the stimulus words in the task. Specifically, it was argued that if the
concept motion was made unavailable through semantic satiation, the S should
subsequently make a phonetographic classification in
task 6. Furthermore, satiation of
motion should generalize the semantically related word running, whereas
repetition of sky should not generalize to running (see Table 6). Hence, it was also expected that the
experimental group would exhibit a satiation effect on the semantic
differential ratings as well as the concept formation task.
Seven words (corresponding to the seven tasks) were
rated on four scales (pleasant-unpleasant; nice-awful; strong-weak; fast-slow),
the 28 responses being given in the same random order for all Ss in the
two groups. The fact that there were
unequal time intervals between the satiation treatment and the presentation of
the various concept formation tasks was not thought to be crucial in view of
the fact that the semantic satiation effect has been shown to last for at least
several minutes (see Chapter IV).
Subjects. The Ss were 32 public school teachers
enrolled in a summer course who volunteered to participate in the
experiment. They were assigned to either
the experimental or control groups on an every-other-one basis as they
arrived at the laboratory.
Instructions. The following instructions were
read to each S after the completion of the semantic satiation treatment:
I am going to give you a series of 12 cards. There is a word written on each card. For each series, you are required to make up
two piles, placing six cards in each pile.
Read all 12 words before starting to make up the two piles. There may be several ways of making up the
two piles, but some ways are better than others. You choose the way you think best. Work as rapidly as you can. You will be timed to see how fast you can do
it. You are not allowed to ask any questions
once we have started.
E
thoroughly shuffled each set of cards (5 * 3 in., white) before giving it to S. Latency measures were taken by means of stop
watch in order to obtain additional data on the classification responses.
Results. The main results can be found in Table 7
which presents the distribution of classifications per type for the seven tasks
as well as the latency scores in seconds.
Looking first at the overall scores, it is apparent that the frequency
distribution of the three types of classifications
is
different for the two groups. A three by
two analysis of the total number of
classifications yields a highly significant chi square value of 12.32 (p
< .01). This finding indicates that
the experimental treatment influenced the subsequent concept formation
tasks. On the other hand, individual t
test between the two groups (N = 16) yield insignificant values for the
semantic classification (t = 0.96) and the phonetographic
classification (t = 1.23), but a significant difference for the idiosyncratic
classifications (t = 2.63; P < .02, two-tailed test). However, in view of the nature and
distribution of scores in the present analysis, it is possible that the t
test may not be an adequate measure of difference. It would be appropriate in the present
instance to ask whether the proportion of phonetographic
classifications in the experimental group is greater than in the control
group. Table 8 gives the answer to this
question. It can be seen that the
experimental Ss gave a significantly larger proportion of phonetographic classifications (39/112 or about 35% versus
the control groups 28/112 or about 25%), as indicated by a one-tailed test of
proportions (Ferguson, 1959). The
comparable analysis for the semantic classifications yields an insignificant
difference. For the idiosyncratic
responses the difference is again highly significant, with the experimental
group giving a smaller proportion of them than the
control.
One can also determine whether more Ss in the
experimental group show a preponderance (i.e. four or more on the seven tasks)
of phonetographic solutions as compared to Ss
in the control group. Table 9 shows that
a significantly greater proportion of experimental Ss gave phonetographic responses as indicated by a one-tailed test.
The findings indicate that (a) the experimental satiation
treatment influenced the overall distribution of classifications in the concept
formation tasks. (b) The satiation
treatment reduced the number of idiosyncratic solutions and increased the
proportion of phonetographic classifications. Contrary to prediction, the number of
proportion of semantic classifications was not affected to a significant
extent. (c) A greater proportion of
experimental than control Ss gave a preponderance of phonetographic
responses over the seven tasks.
With respect to the latency data presented in Table
7, the following can be noted: (d) There is a highly significant overall task
effect for both groups indicating that the various tasks were of unequal
difficulty. (e) There is a significant
type of classification effect for the control group but not for the
experimental. Individual comparisons of
the mean latencies for the control group indicate that the mean for
the
idiosyncratic classifications is significantly larger than that for either
semantic (t = 4.15; P < .001) or phonetographic
classifications (t = 4.44; P < .001), but the difference between these last
two is not significant (t = 1.03).
The overall difference in latency between the two
groups for all seven tasks (irrespective of type of responses) is not
significant.
Finally, Table 10 presents the data obtained on the
semantic satiation treatment. The
overall satiation score for the seven words does not depart significantly from
zero for either group, and the means for the two groups are not significantly
different from each other. Thus, the
prediction that the satiation effect would generalize from one word to another
related word in the experimental group was not supported by the data. Separate analyses of variance yield a
significant word effect for the experimental group but not for the control,
suggesting that the generalization of the effect of repetition of one word upon
another related word depends on the specific semantic relation between the two
words. This finding is in agreement with
other findings on semantic generalization (see Osgood, 1953) as well as the
results reported by Underwood and Richardson (1956a) that ease of verbal
concept learning depends on the dominance level or strength of the associative
relation
between
the concept and its class items (cf. also Staats,
1961). These results point to the
desirability of a systematic procedure for the selection of words in the
investigation of generalization of the semantic satiation phenomenon.
Since the two groups in the present
experiment did not differ with respect to the overall generalization of the
satiation effect, we must attribute their differential behavior in the concept
formation tasks to the different concepts which each group repeated during the
satiation treatment. And since the
satiation effect on these words was not directly measured, the reduced
availability of the verbal mediating response hypothesized for the experimental
Ss remains at the inferred level.18
Problem
Solving.
The solution of arithmetic computational problems
involves the use of mathematical symbols just a speaking involves the use of
language symbols. We shall assume that
certain mediation processes constitute the meaning of mathematical symbols and
that these processes are called into play when the symbols are perceived. Repeated consideration of mathematical symbol
_______________________________
18 An experiment is now
being planned which is designed to investigate more precisely the specific
points of difficulty raised in the above discussion.
prior
to a computation task which involves that same symbol should inhibit the
mediation processes identified wit it and leas either to inability on the part
of the S to solve the mathematical problem or to loss in efficiency in
its solution.
The present experiment has been designed to test the
validity of the above prediction. The mathematical
problems used were simple addition tasks and the semantic satiation effect was
measured as an increase in latency of response of the addition task. Osgood et. Al. (1957) established that
intensities of semantic ratings are negatively related to latencies of semantic
ratings are negatively related to latencies of semantic judgments. In the present case, we assume that the
increased latencies for solutions result largely from decreases in the symbols
meanings. This decrease in the meanings
of symbols would be manifested in behavior as a difficulty in utilizing their
full significance for solutions, in the sense that they have become less
meaningful.
In order to measure the satiation effect upon a Ss
latency of response, the same addition tasks were presented under two
conditions. One was an experimental
condition in which S repeated a number aloud for 15 sec. Prior to an
addition task in which that number entered as one of the two additives. The other or control condition was exactly
the same except that the number which was repeated aloud was different from the
two numbers in addition task. The two
conditions can be schematized as follows:
Experimental: (7)
7+4= ?
Control: (2)
7+4= ?
where
the number in parenthesis is repeated for 15 sec. immediately preceding the
presentation of the addition task.
In comparing the latencies under the two conditions,
the crucial difference would be the interval between the presentation of the
last number (4 in the above example) and the end of the correct response
(11). The difference between the
experimental and control latencies is referred to later as the Satiation
Score; it is this score which constitutes the measure of the semantic satiation
effect. It was predicted that the
increase in the difficulty of the task, resulting from the decrease in the
meaningfulness of the mathematical symbol, should be reflected in an increase
in latency of solution.
Material. Seventy-two slides (excluding those used in
practice trials) were prepared and arranged in 24 series of three numbers each,
representing 12 pairs of control and experimental responses. The 24 series were systematically mixed in
such a manner that half of the experimental series came before their control
counterparts, while half came after.
These were, in order of presentation, as follows:
(1)
7+7; (8) 8+8; (1) 9+4; (7) 7+5; (2) 8+6;
(9)
9+9; (2) 7+4; (8) 8+4; (9) 9+5; (1) 7+6;
(8)
8+5; (3) 9+6; (7) 7+7; (9) 9+4; (2) 8+8;
(3)
7+5; (3) 9+9; (8) 8+6; (7) 7+4; (2) 9+5;
(3)
8+4; (7) 7+6; (1) 8+5; (9) 9+6.
It
will be noted that there are about equal intervals between experimental and
control counterparts no matter which of the conditions came first. This counterbalancing procedure was necessary
in view of the fact that a marked improvement effect with practice was observed
in a pilot study.
Apparatus. The 24 series of three numbers were presented
visually to S. These were
projected on a ground-glass screen by means of Kodak automatic slide
projector. Ten electric keys were
connected in a series to an Esterline-Angus Operation
Recorder (Model AW). The keys, numbered
0 to 9, were in ½ in. wide and arranged in a straight line separated from each
other by 1 ½ in. spaces. They were placed
on the table in front of the screen where the seated S could easily
reach them. The slide projector and the
operation recorder, located out of Ss view behind the ground-glass
screen, were connected to a time circuit in such a manner that each change of
slide was recorded on the chart. The
time circuit was made to change a consecutive series of three slides as
follows; first number (15 sec.); second number (1/2 sec.); third number (1/2
sec.); blankrest period (15 sec.). The S
was instructed to look at the repeat aloud the first number of each series
for as long as the number remained exposed on the screen, then, to make his
response as soon as possible after the third number by pressing down the two
keys corresponding to the answer. Thus,
for the series (2), 7,4, S would press the key numbered l twice. The index finger of the preferred hand was
used for all responses. The time
interval between the exposure of the third number and the pressing of the
second key was taken as the latency measure.
Since the projector was automatic, all E had
to do was to change the trays containing the slides. As there were three trays, the experiment was
stopped twice, and the time required to change trays and allow cooling of the
projector lamp (about 2 min.) was considered as a rest period.
Subjects. The Ss formed a heterogeneous group of
33 people composed of high school students and adults. They were told that the purpose of the
experiment was to determine their speed of adding small numbers. The importance of speed was emphasized three
times, when giving initial instructions and again when changing the trays of
the projector.
Scoring. Each Ss record chard was analyzed by
means of a ruler which was calibrated to units of .08 sec. Thus, the average error of precision attributable
to the measuring instrument was .02 sec.
The error attributable to observation, i.e. scoring reliability, was
checked by having a second judge (who was unaware of the purpose of the
experiment) analyze the random sample of 100 responses, and the product-moment
correlation coefficient between the two judges was found to be +.95.
Results. The 12 pairs of experimental and control latencies
yielded 12 difference (satiation) scores for each S. Sine control latencies were subtracted from the
corresponding experimental ones, a positive difference score indicates a larger
latency for the experimental responses.
For each S an average as well as a median difference score was
computed, and the means for both these scores are presented in Table 11. It can be seen that the mean increase in
latency of response of the experimental versus the control series is 0.063
sec.; which is significant beyond the .02 level of confidence. This change in response latency represents an
increase of a little over 3%. It should
be made clear that this result is not invalidated by the fact that the mean
increase is smaller than the unit of measurement for individual scores. By averaging over several observations one
reduces the error in measurement considerably
TABLE 11
Over
what it is on a single observation.
Hence the possibility of obtaining a significant mean increase of less
than .08 sec. is not surprising. The
mean change indexed by the alternate or median measure is 0.084 sec., a highly
significant increase of about 4%. It is
apparent from these results that our hypothesis concerning the decease in
efficiency with which mathematical symbols can be used as a result of their
continued presentation has been confirmed.
As in the case of semantic satiation with verbal symbols, we interpret
this decrease in the availability of the symbol as a direct result of the rapid
and continued elicitation of the mediation processes identified with the
meaning of the numerical symbol. It is
also apparent, however, that the satiation effect demonstrated here is
relatively small (even though significant).
One must keep in mind that the addition tasks used were extremely simple
problems (practically no errors were made), and it would be difficult to
disrupt them much in view of the fact that verbal repetition usually leads to
only partial inhibition of the mediators (see Chapter II and VI). It is expected that with more difficult tasks
the disruptive effect of semantic satiation would be appreciably larger.
Summery.
Two experiments were described which
demonstrate the operation of semantic satiation in concept formation and
problem solving tasks. In the first
study, a verbal mediating response necessary for the solution of a concept
formation task was satiated and the effects upon solution of the problem were
noted. It was found that the semantic
satiation treatment influenced the type of solutions given by the Ss,
but other predictions originally made were only partially confirmed. In the second study, a number was satiated
just before that number was to added to a second number. It was shown that satiation of numbers in
this manner increased the difficulty of the addition task, as measured by speed
of solutions. The effect, although
significant, was small, and it was suggested that the semantic satiation effect
would likely have greater disruptive effects in more complicated tasks.
CHAPTER VI
MEDIATED SATIATION IN SYMBOLIC PROCESSES
Generalization of Semantic Satiation.
In the present chapter two
experiments will be described in which the generalized effects of semantic
satiation are made the explicit object of study. Compared to the large number of
investigations concerned with positive transfer in verbal learning, relatively
few have touched on inhibitory processes.
Theoretically, all the generalizations drawn from studies using positive
transfer designs should have their complements when examined with negative
transfer designs. We have chosen two
rather different approaches to demonstrate the generalized effects of
inhibition, referred to as secondary extinction in the literature on
conditioning. The first deals with the
disruptive effects of semantic satiation in a normally facilitory
verbal transfer design. The second study
is concerned with cross-linguistic generalization of semantic satiation from
one to the other of a bilinguals two languages.
Mediated
Inhibition in Verbal Transfer.
Although
the role of mediation in associative processes has long been recognized by
psychologists (e.g. Howe, 1893; Atherton and Washburn, 1912), it is only
recently that it has been demonstrated conclusively in the laboratory (Russell
and Storms, 1955; McGhee and Schulz, 1961).
The design of the present study was parallel to those of Russell and
Storms and McGhee and Schulz. In Group E
(experimental), Ss learned two paired-associate lists: the learning of
list 1 established A-B connections between nonsense syllables (A) and
meaningful words (B); List 2 was composed of A-D pairs, where the relation
between B and D was such that D was the most common verbal associate to C and C
was the most common verbal associate to B.
The middle element, C, acts as the mediating link in the forward
association chain, B C D, and provides facilitation in
the acquisition of A-D lists. In the
present case, however, the C word was satiated according to the technique
described in Chapter II. It was expected
that the decreased meaningfulness of the C word would reduce its effectiveness
as a mediator in the B
C D chain,
reducing the facilitation effect during the subsequent acquisition of the A-D
pairs.
In Group C (control), Ss also
learned two lists: the learning of List 1 established A-X associations between
the nonsense syllables (A) and meaningful words (X); List 2 was composed of the
same A-D pairs as used for Group E.
However, no associative relation existed between the X and D words. The words were the same as those used in the
Russell and Storms study where a complete description of the procedure for
selecting words can be found.
The overall design is illustrated in
Table 12. The Ss in Group E
received the Mediator Nonsatiated and the Mediator
Satiated conditions. Each of theses
conditions consisted of the learning of five paired associates. The A1-BN and A1-DN correspond to the second
half of the A-B and A-D pairs respectively in Table 3 of the Russell and Storms
study. The A2-BS and A2-DS pairs
correspond to the first half of the A-B and A-D pairs respectively in their
study. In the 10 A-B pairs formed List 1
in the present study, while the 10 A-D pairs formed List 2. Three different random orders of the 10 pairs
in each list were presented in a standard memory drum at a 3-sec. presentation
rate with a 6-sec. intertribal interval.
The instructions given were the same as those described in detail by
Storms (1958). Each S saw List 1 for
a maximum of 27 trials or until he met the criterion of three errorless
repetitions, whichever came first. (All Ss
met the lesser criterion of one errorless repetition, but 10 failed to meet the
criterion of three errorless repetitions within the maximum of 27 trials). Eight minutes elapsed between
TABLE 12
The
last presentation of List 1 and the first presentation of List 2. During this period, Ss of Group E received
the semantic satiation treatment for the five CS words of the Mediator Satiated
conditions (A2-BS), as well as for the five filler words (actually, the second
half of the X words in the Russell and Storms Table). First, S rated the 10 words (randomly
mixed) on three scales of the semantic differential (pleasant-unpleasant;
strong-weak; and fast-slow). Then S repeated
aloud each word for 20 sec. before rating it again on the same three
scales. Differences in intensity of
ratings before and after repetitions represent the semantic satiation scores to
be presented below, following the
satiation treatment, List 2 was presented and S learned it to a
criterion of three errorless repetitions and in this case all Ss reached
the criterion in less than 27 trials.
The Ss in Group C received
the Nonmediated Control condition shown in Table
12. The five A1-X1 pairs and the five
A2-X2 pairs formed List 1 which corresponds to the A-X column of the Russell
and Storms Table. The A1-DN and A2-DS
pairs which formed List 2 were the same as those for Group E. The procedure used with Group E was
duplicated here except for the fact that no satiation treatment was
administered, and Ss were engaged in neutral conversation during the 8
min. which separated the two lists.
In summary, the following
comparisons can be noted: the Mediator Nonsatiated conditioned in the present study corresponds to
the Chained conditioned of Russell and Storms (1955) or the Mediated group
in McGhee and Schulz (1961). The Nonmediated Control condition corresponds to the
Unchained or Nonmediated conditions respectively
in those two studies; the Mediator Satiated condition represents the proactive
interference design of the present study.
The results are presented in terms of differences in acquisition scores
of List 2 under the three conditions.
Subjects. The Ss were 50 male English-speaking
cadets of the Royal Canadian Air Force enrolled in a training course at a base
near Montreal. They were asked to
volunteer for the experiment by their instructor. The testing was done individually at the
training base during regular work hours.
Results. Comparison between the two groups on the
number of trials required to reach the criterion of one errorless repetition ( met by all Ss) for their particular first
list is presented at the top of Table 13.
There is no significant difference between the two groups indicating
that they are of equal learning ability.
This conclusion is correct unless the materials in the two lists are not
of
TABLE 13
Equal difficulty
which is unlikely in view of the particular selection procedure used by Russell
and Storms and the fact that McGhee and Schulz, using the same meaningful words
but other nonsense syllables of comparable association values, found no such
difference. The two groups differ
significantly on the acquisition of the second list, with Group E showing a
marked superiority over Group C. This
finding is a replication of the McGhee and Schulz and other studies in which
the mediated condition. The same finding
is pointed up by the fact that the acquisition of List 2 by Group E is
significantly faster than the acquisition of List 1, whereas no such
facilitation effect is noticeable of List 1, whereas no such facilitation
effect is noticeable for group C (see note on Table 13). Breaking down the analysis of List 2
acquisition into A1-DN and A2-DS pairs, it can be seen that in both cases Group
E is significantly superior to the control.
This means that the predicted proactive inhibition effect of the
Mediator Satiated condition (A2-DS) did not result in absolute negative
transfer. In fact, facilitation was
noticed, although significantly less than in the case of the Mediator Nonsatiated condition (A2-DN), as will be indicated
below.
The mean semantic satiation score for
Group E on all 10 words was 3.07 (SD = 6.64; t = 2.49; P< .02). For the five CS words the mean was 2.27 (SD
= 3.82; t= 3.20; P<.01); the mean for the five filler words was 0.80 (SD =
4.09; t = 1.05; n.s.). This difference
in amount of semantic satiation shown on the two sets of words approaches
significance (t = 1.84; P<.10), even though the product moment correlation
coefficient between the two sets is significant (r = .43; P<.02). It is possible that the difference noted is
due to the fact that CS words are related to the B words seen in List 1,
whereas the filler words are not so related.
To the extent that the former have similar meaning responses to the
words in List 1, the mediation processes involved in the CS words were elicited
as a whole more often than the filler words, which might have resulted in
larger satiation scores. Another
hypothesis, not necessarily antagonistic to the previous one, is that the
degree of semantic satiation exhibited with equal amounts of repetition varies
with the particular words used.
Let us not turn to a comparison of
the acquisition scores between the A1-DN and A2-DS pairs of List 2 for Group
E. Russell and Storms, making a similar
comparison in their study, used two separate criteria. One of these was an analysis of the first
five different correct responses made by the Ss, used to determine
whether the response terms of A-D pairs, for which associative chaining was
possible (here, the A1-DN pairs), were more easily elicited during the early
trials. In the present study, there were
compared to the A2-DS pairs where the mediator was satiated. The other analysis involved subtracting the
total number of correct anticipations made each S for the Mediator
Satiated pairs (A2-DS) from the corresponding total for the Mediator Nonsatiated pairs (A1-DN).
If there is inhibition during learning of the Mediator Satiated pairs
(i.e. S has a smaller number of correct anticipations for the A2-DS than
the A1-DN pairs), this difference will be positive. In view of Weitzs
(1961) argument that conclusions based on verbal learning data often depend on
the type of criterion measure used, it was decided to add four other measures
in the present analysis and these are presented in Table 14. It can be seen that all six measures used in
the comparison support the conclusion that semantic satiation of the mediator (
C ) increases the difficulty with which an A-D list is acquired after having
established A-B connections.
Furthermore, the proactive inhibition effect is noticeable not only as
an increase in the number of trials required for acquisition, but also as an
increase in both the number of intrusions and omissions made during
acquisition. The same analysis for Group
C is also given in Table 14. It will be
remembered
that
Group C established A-X connections before making A-D connections, and no
satiation treatment was given. It can be
seen that none of the six measures indicate differential difficulty of
acquisition of the A1-DN and A2-DS pairs.
A closer examination of the data
lends support to the main finding,. If
the A1-BN pairs of List 1 had been originally better learned that the A2-BS
pairs by the experimental Ss, then the A1-DN pairs of List 2 would have
been easier to acquire than the A2-DS pairs.
Analysis of the total number of correct anticipations of the A1-BN pairs
minus the corresponding number for the A2-BS pairs during learning of List 1
(to a criterion of one errorless repetition) yielded a mean of 2.47 (SD =
15.51; t = 0.88; n.s.). Thus, not only
is there no reliable difference in the learning of A1-BN and A2-BS pairs in List
1, but also the A1-BN pairs were somewhat more difficult to learn as indicated
by the minus value of the mean difference.
Consequently, the differential difficulty of A-D pairs under the
satiation and non-satiation treatments cannot be attributed to the initial
differential difficulty of A-B pairs.
Also, the fact that the control group did not exhibit superiority of the
A1-DN over the A2-DS pairs of List 2 (see Table 14) indicates that there was no
intrinsic difference between the two sets of A-D pairs.
Finally, the product moment
correlation coefficient between the degree of semantic satiation shown by each
experimental Son the satiated mediators (CS) and the extent of
inhibition shown in acquisition of A2-DS pairs relative to the A1-DN pairs was
.42 (P < .02). This is a most
interesting finding since it shows that the extent of proactive inhibition for
individual Ss caused by satiation of the mediator is related to the
degree of decreased meaningfulness of the mediator itself. In other words, the spread of inhibition is
related to the degree of extinction on the original stimulus, an effect which
is well known in positive generalization gradients (Osgood, 1953).
Discussion. The finding that a significant facilitation
effect is obtained in List 2 with Group E, but not with Group C, is a
replication of the positive transfer effect of the mediation paradigm reported
by several authors and need not be discussed further in detail. The specific contribution of this experiment
concerns the other finding reported, namely that significantly less
facilitation is obtained when the mediator is satiated. Two possible mechanisms might be operating
here: perhaps the availability of the mediator is reduced, making the completion
of the mediation sequence B C D less probable; or possibly, given the
assumption (see Staats, 1961) that some of the
mediation reactions in the mediator C are also involved in B and D, the
inhibition process might generalize to these two terms as well. As a result of either of these two processes,
the subsequent acquisition of D will have been made more difficult. Furthermore, the amount of generalized
inhibition or secondary extinction might be expected to be proportional to the
degree to which the original stimulus word was inhibited. The significant positive correlation reported
above is consistent with this expectation.
Semantic
Satiation Among Bilinguals.
The phenomenon of bilingualism has been studied by linguists
long before psychologists considered it of special interest. Weinreich (1953) in
an exhaustive review of the literature on this topic reports several studies in
which two forms of bilingualism have been identified. Following Osgoods development of a theory of
meaning, Ervin and Osgood (1954) have formulated a psychological theory of
meaning which uses a mediation principle as its main concept and incorporates
the linguists notion of two forms of bilingualism, accounting for the
differences in types in terms of the manner in which bilinguals acquire and use
their two languages. They define a
compound bilingual as one having two functionally dependent linguistic
systems, in contrast to the coordinate bilingual who makes use of two
functionally independent language systems.
The compounds are presumed to have a
common mediation process for translated symbols in their two languages,
while the coordinate bilinguals are believed to have relatively distinct
mediation processes for translation-equivalent symbols in each of their
languages. Lambert, Havelka,
and Crosby (1958) have provided behavioral evidence in support of this theory.
Semantic satiation becomes particularly relevant to
the functional dependence or independence of the language systems of compound
and coordinate bilinguals. When a
compound bilingual continuously repeats a word, say house, the mediation
process corresponding to that word should be suppressed, making for a loss of
meaning of that word as well as the meaning of its translated
equivalent, maison, since both words bear the same
relation to the suppressed mediators.
However, for the coordinate bilingual, translated equivalents function
relatively independently so that the cross-linguistic satiation effect
(hereafter called cross-satiation) should not be exhibited at all or, at least,
should be exhibited to a lesser extent than in the contrasting compound
case. Here, then, is a potential
differentiator of the two types of bilinguals.
The experiment which is described below has been specifically designed
to test the validity of these theoretical speculations.
Materials and Procedure. The method
used here to measure semantic satiation was essentially the same as that
described in Chapter II. The words (see
Table 15) and scales were printed on 3 * 5 in. white index cards and placed in
a Kardex folder in such a manner as to enable E
to expose them in a predetermined randomized order. Five semantic scales were used in English
words and their French equivalents for the French words. These were: good-bad (bon-mauvais), pleasant-unpleasant (agreeable-dθsagrθable), large-small (grand-petit), strong-weak (fort-faible), active-passive (actif-passif). The S made his ratings by pointing
with a stylus to one of the seven positions along each scale and his responses
were recorded. The various treatment
conditions which were used are described below and summarized in Table 15.
Normal Semantic Differential. The
experiment started with the determination of Ss ratings under normal
conditions for eight words each rated along five scales (making a total of 40
responses in random order). For example,
E would expose
the
word father which S pronounced aloud once; then Exposed a scale
(e.g. good-bad) and S made his rating.
This procedure was followed until all words were rated on all
scales. These 40 ratings served as
points of comparison for the various treatment conditions described below.
Satiation Condition. Four of the
words rated above (two in English and two in French) were presented again (20
responses). E first exposed a
word which S repeated aloud for 15 sec. at a rate of about two
repetitions per sec. Then E
exposed a scale, a signal to S to stop repeating and make his response.
Cross-satiation Condition. Two other
words among those rated under the initial normal condition (one in English and
one in French) were presented again (making a total of 10 responses). E first exposed a word such as
kitchen and S repeated it aloud for 15 sec. Then E exposed a second word which was
the translated equivalent word for the first, in this case cuisine. The S pronounced this second word
once, after which E immediately exposed a scale and S made his
rating. The S had previously been
instructed to always make your response to the second word, not to the
first. By comparing the ratings under
the present condition with those made under the initial normal condition, the
effect of the repetition of its translated equivalent upon the semantic ratings
of a particular word (cross-satiation) was determined.
Different-word Control Condition. Two other
words among those rated under the initial normal condition were presented again. E first exposed a word such as sky
which S repeated aloud for 15 sec.
Then E exposed a second word in the other language
(fleur) and S pronounced it once, after which E immediately
exposed a scale and S made his response to the second word. This condition was therefore parallel to the
cross-satiation condition except that the word repeated and the word rated did
not bear the relationship of translated equivalents, but were semantically
unrelated words. This condition was
intended to serve as control for the cross-satiation condition and was
introduced to determine the effect of the task of repetition per se upon
the rating of another word.
It should be mentioned here that the compound group
was recalled to the laboratory and tested a second time for reasons to be
discussed below. During this second
testing a different-word control condition was administered in which the word
repeated (smoke) was in the same language as the word which was rated
(money).
Subjects. The Ss were a heterogeneous group of
62 English-French bilinguals (college students, graduate students, housewives)
who were paid for their cooperation. An
attempt was made to use balanced bilinguals by asking for volunteers who felt
equally proficient in both languages.
However, to insure this requirement, Lamberts (1955) automaticity
measure was administered to every S.
This measure involves the use of eight finger keys, the stems of which
are differently colored, an exposure apparatus which directs S to
depress a particular key with directions appearing randomly in either language
(e.g. yellow, right), and a chronoscope measuring latency of response. A significance test can be applied to test
the hypothesis that balanced bilinguals will show a mean differential latency
of response which is not significantly different from zero. Two bilinguals who were not balanced were
excluded from further analysis of results.
I order to determine compoundness
or coordinateness among bilinguals, detailed information was obtained from each
S concerning how, when, and where his languages were acquired. The variables which have been shown by
Lambert, et. Al. (1958) to be relevant were used as a basis for classification,
i.e. whether S had learned the two languages in the same cultural
setting or not, whether he has used both languages interchangeably inside and
outside the home, etc. 19
____________________________
19
A detailed questionnaire relevant to the present classification scheme can be
found in James (1960).
On
the basis of this interview, Ss were classified as either compound or
coordinate, and their results analyzed separately. Two groups, 30 compounds and 32 coordinates,
were thus obtained.
Results. The initial polarity scores given in Table 16
were derived by totaling each Ss ratings along the four-point intensity
scale and determining a group mean.
Thus, 16.67 (cross-satiation) is a group mean calculated for 10 ratings
per S. Since the initial polarity
scores could range from 0 to 30, it will be noted that all of the actual scores
fall near the median, ranging from 13.94 to 18.07. Consequently it is unlikely that these
initial differences influenced the experimental treatment effects to be noted
below.
Table 16 also presents the mean change scores which
are differences between initial and final polarity scores. For example, the mean change for the compound
group after the satiation treatment was 1.27 which indicates a change from an
initial polarity score of 16.50 to a final polarity score of 15.23.
Tests of significance are given for departure from
zero of each groups mean change, and for differences between mean changes for
the compound and coordinate groups on each of the three conditions. It can be seen that the two groups
Differ
significantly from each other under the cross-satiation condition but not under
the other two conditions. This finding
substantiates our prediction that compound and coordinate bilinguals will react
differently to the cross-satiation treatment.
We will now examine the results with respect to each groups behavior
under the three different conditions.
Satiation. The compound group has a negative mean which
departs significantly from zero, whereas the coordinate group has a negative
mean which fails to reach statistical significance. The result is ambiguous since there is no
significant difference between the two groups.
Cross-satiation. The significant negative mean
for the compounds is as expected. The
significant positive mean for the coordinates was not anticipated. According to the original hypothesis, it was
predicted that coordinates will either satiate cross-linguistically to a lesser
extent than compounds or will not be affected by the cross-satiation
treatment. It now appears that the
coordinate group behaves inexactly the opposite manner from the
compounds, exhibiting generation of meaning instead of satiation.
Different-word Control. The
coordinate group seems to exhibit no systematic effect or change under this
condition, whereas the compounds have a negative mean which departs
significantly from zero. However, the
difference between the two groups does not reach statistical significance.
A post-experimental interview revealed that none of
the Ss were aware of the purpose of the experiment. Most of them believed that E was
investigating the differences in my reactions in English and French. The Ss who stated that their ratings
changed (from normal to treatment conditions) thought this was due to fact that
I forgot what I had done before, or that I thought of something else the
second time. Only one S stated
that his ratings became less extreme under repetition conditions (including
control) and attributed this effect to his confusion. It appears, then, that the semantic satiation
effect operates without explicit awareness on the part of the S of the
purposes of the experiment or of the fact that his ratings change in a
systematic manner.
Discussion. Although our main prediction has been borne
out, namely that compounds cross-satiate while coordinates do not, it is
apparent from the pattern of results in Table 16 that our original account of
the effect of the three different conditions is incomplete and that our
theoretical model requires extension. We
shall formulate the following two hypotheses which suggest themselves from the
present results, but which are also in agreement with other findings to be
mentioned below.
Hypothesis A. Bilinguals as group are less
susceptible to the satiation effect than are monolinguals.
In a pilot study with 27 bilinguals we have used
essentially the same method and procedure as that described in the present
investigation except that the automaticity measure was not administered and
therefore no statements can be made as to the bilinguals comparative
proficiency in the two languages. The
combined mean for the 27 bilinguals under the satiation condition was found to
be 0.16 (SD = 2.07) which is not significantly different from zero (t =
0.40). In the present study, when we
combine the scores of both compounds and coordinates under the satiation
condition (N = 62) we obtain a negative mean of 0.76 (SD = 2.46) which is also
not significantly different from zero (t = 0.77). These findings are in striking contrast with
our experiments using monolinguals Ss in which a significant satiation
effect was repeatedly obtained.
Added support for this hypothesis comes from evidence
of a slightly different kind, and which will be presented in more detail in
Chapter VIII. Carrolls (Carroll and Sapon, 1955, Test V) paired-associate test was administered
to 18 Ss used in the experiment described in Chapter IV and their scores
on this test were correlated with their polarity-difference scores under the
semantic satiation treatment. A
product-moment correlation coefficient of -.66 (P<.01) was obtained. This finding suggests that efficient verbal
learning (of the paired-associate type) depends on an ability to resist the
semantic satiation effect. Bilinguals,
and especially balanced bilinguals, have demonstrated their skill in verbal
learning and it is likely that they
represent a sample of Ss who resist satiation of this type.
Hypothesis B. An experimental situation in
which the bilingual is required to switch from one language to the other is
inefficient and inhibitory for the compound, facilitative for the coordinate.
This hypothesis seems to contradict the position taken
by Ervin and Osgood (1954) who state that theoretically, decoding from a
foreign language should be facilitative for the compound system, since
different inputs are associated with the same representational reactions or
meanings (P. 134). It seems equally
possible, however, that the facilitation provided by the similarities of the
mediators is counteracted by the interference effects produced when the two
languages are to be used separately, as in ordinary life situations. This is partly recognized by Ervin and Osgood
in their statement that interference is most likely to occur when the
languages are closely related and the cultures and experiences associated with
the languages are alike (1954, P. 141).
It seems that in order to reach bilingual fluency, the compound must
develop an inhibitory mechanism which would reduce the availability (and
therefore the potential interference) of the second language while the first is
being used. Then if he is required to
switch from one language to the other, he will behave less efficiently than
when he is permitted to function with one or the other of his languages.20
The cross-satiation and different-word control
conditions used in the present experiment represent a language switching
situation. As the compound bilingual
repeats a word in one language (e.g. sky), and is then presented with a word
in the other language (fleur), the decoding of this second word will be
inefficient, reflected as a systematic change toward less intense positions or
toward the middle or meaningless point on the semantic scales. The coordinate bilingual, however, will
behave more efficiently
_________________________________
20
These interference hypotheses are more directly investigated in an experiment
now being carried out in our laboratory.
in
the same situation since the two language systems are relatively independent
and less subject to interlingual interference. It even appears that the switching process is
facilitative, as indicated by the increased polarization of the ratings under
language switching situations (i.e. different-word control and
cross-satiation). In the case of
compounds, the cross-satiation treatment has a neutralizing effect on the
meanings of translated equivalents, whereas for the coordinates the repetitive
elicitation of mediators in one language appears to liberate the mediators of
translated equivalents. The latter
effect reminds one of disinhibition in extinction
phenomena. It is conceivable that for
the coordinate bilingual presentation of a word in language B after its
translated equivalent in language A has been satiated (extinguished) acts as a disinhibitor and results in a stronger than normal response
to the originally inhibited word. Why
this should be so with the coordinate and not the compound bilingual is not
clear at the moment and further experimental work is needed to clarify this
point.
The following deductions can be made from the two
hypotheses presented above: (a) Since the cross-satiation treatment for the
compounds involves both the inhibition of mediators as the result of their
repeated presentation and the inhibition of the decoding process of the second
language, the negative mean under this condition should be greater than either
the mean of the satiation condition or that of the different-word control in
which only one effect is operating at a time.
Correlated t tests between
these three conditions revealed that the cross-satiation condition has a
significantly greater negative mean than that of the satiation condition (t =
2.25; < .05) as well as that of
different-word control (t = 3.28; P < .01), thus supporting the first
deduction. Furthermore, it appears that
the satiation and different-word control treatments have equal effects since
the two means are not significantly different (t = 0.03). (b) Since language switching is facilitative
for the coordinate group, there should be significant difference between both
cross-satiation and different-word control conditions and the satiation
treatment (which does not involve language switching). Correlated t tests show that while the
difference between the cross-satiation and satiation treatments is
significantly different in the predicted direction (t = 2.14; P < .05), the
difference between different-word control and satiation conditions does not
reach an acceptable level of significance (t = 1.18; P < .30). The deduction is thus only partially
confirmed. The cross-satiation and
different-word control conditions seem to have equal effects (t = 0.68). (c) If a different-word control condition is
administered to the compounds in which the word repeated and the word rated are
in the same language, no systematic effect should be observed. As mentioned earlier, the compound bilinguals
were recalled to the laboratory about five weeks after the first testing and
the new different-word control condition (same language) was administered using
the same standard procedure as before.
The results o this testing as well as those obtained previously with
this group are presented in Table 17. It
can be seen that both types of different-word control conditions are
significantly different from the cross-satiation condition, but they are not
significantly different from each other.
Although the difference is in the predicted direction (greater negative
mean under the different language control), this deduction is not supported to
a reliable degree by the present results.
Summary.
Two experiments were described in which
generalization of the semantic satiation effect was demonstrated. In the first study, a proactive interference
paradigm was arranged in which Ss first learned an A-B list, then, an
A-D list, where a mediation sequence of the type BCD is assumed
to
exist. However, before the second list
was presented, the inferred mediator, C, was reduced in availability by the
satiation procedure. It was shown that
satiation of the mediator resulted in generalization of inhibition during
acquisition of the A-D list. In the
second study, it was shown that generalization of satiation from one language
to another (cross-satiation) takes place with compound bilinguals: those having
interdependent language systems, but not with coordinate bilinguals, those
having functionally independent language systems. Some additional analyses were also discussed
which have a further bearing upon the differences in the language structures of
these two types of bilinguals.
CHAPTER VII
STIMULUS CHARACTERISTICS AS DTERMINANTS OF SEMANTIC
SATIATION
Statement
of the Problem.
Two basic dimensions underlie the theoretical
discussion presented so far: in the first phase, it is assumed that words
derive their meaning from the implicit representational mediation responses
they illicit, and in the second phase, it was suggested that these implicit
mediational responses are subject to the same basic principles of behavior as
are overt responses. Research has
established (see Razran, 1939) that the extinction of
overt responses is affected by characteristics of the conditioned response and
the complexity of the stimulus situation.
If it could be shown that semantic satiation is similarly affected by
the same variables, then the operational and logical relationship between
extinction and semantic satiation would be made more convincing. The experiment to be described was designed
to demonstrate this relationship, namely, that extinction is inversely related
to stimulus complexity (Razran,1939).
Materials. There are a course a great many ways in which
stimulus complexity can be varied. Since
semantic satiation has been demonstrated with words, it was decided to use
words as a basis for defining one continuum among the many possible along which
various stimuli differ. Words in the
form of the names of objects and the actual objects themselves obviously differ
in that objects are specific instances whereas the names of objects are
actually category labels in which encompass a large number and variety of specific
stimuli all differing from each other in many details. Thus the word pencil does not identify
idiosyncratic characteristics of the referent, such as size, color, specific
detail, as much as a particular pencil does.
In the present context, these two types stimuli represent two ends of a
specificity-generality continuum, analogous to the dimension of
abstractness proposed by Karwoski, Gramlick, and Arnott (1944). Black and white photographs of objects fall
roughly between these two points since they are less specific than the objects
themselves in that they are two dimensional and have no color, but are more
specific than words because they reveal shape and size. In the same sense it was argued that underexposed
photographs are less specific than clear photographs since small detail such as
indentation, shadowing, inequalities or roughness are eliminated. Table 18 illustrates how the four types of
stimuli discussed differ on
some
common dimensions. It can be seen that
objects represent the most complex set of stimuli and contain the largest
number of relevant visual dimensions, whereas words, being most general,
contain no relevant visual characteristics.
Accordingly, it was predicted that repeated presentation of each of the
four sets of stimuli would result in semantic changes that would be inversely
related to stimulus complexity. Thus,
words should show semantic satiation (as previously), while photographs and objects
should exhibit progressively smaller satiation effects. The exact relationship between semantic
change as a result of repeated presentation and each of the four types of
stimuli used could not be predicted since the present classification does not
permit the assumption that the stimuli differ from each other by equal steps on
the complexity continuum.
Nine small objects were selected from among those
previously used in a study by Wimer and Lambert
(1959). These are described in Table
19. Two black and white high gloss
prints (5 * 3 in.) of each object were prepare by a commercial
photographer. One of these was near
perfect reproduction, the other was underexposed by about 20% making the object
appear light and washed out, although still recognizable.
TABLE 19
Procedure. Each of the four classes of stimuli was
presented to a different group of Ss.
The objects were used as stimuli for Group 1. Three objects (button, key, wheel) were
administered under an experimental inspection condition. Three other objects (pencil, ring, mirror)
served as control. Each object was
pasted on a 5 * # in. white index card and inserted in a Kardex
folder where E could expose the stimuli in a predetermined random
order. Six semantic differential scales
(pleasant-unpleasant; nice-awful; large-small; heavy-light; fast-slow;
sharp-dull) were presented on separate cards and also inserted in the Kardex unit. Ss
were tested individually under each of the following conditions.
Initial Normal. At the beginning of the
experimental session S was required to rate each object on every scale
by pointing to one of the seven positions on the scale. His responses were recorded by E. For the three objects subsequently used as
experimental inspection stimuli, E would first expose the stimulus, for
example the button, for about a second, by lifting the flap of the Kardex folder twice in quick succession; then, immediately
after, he would expose a scale, and S would make his rating. For the three objects subsequently used as
control stimuli, E would first expose the object once (e.g. the nickel,
see Table 19) and this would be quickly followed by the exposure of a second
object (e.g. the pencil), and S would make his rating to the second
stimulus. The reason for this procedure
was to make the initial condition exactly similar to the different-stimulus
control condition described below. The
order of the 36 ratings (6 stimuli on 6 scales) was systematically randomized
for half of the group; this order was then reversed for the other half of the
group.
Experimental Inspection. Following a
short rest period, each of the three objects used in this condition was exposed
a second time for a period of 15 sec. before S rated it on a scale. As there were six semantic scales, each
stimulus was seen for six 15 sec. periods.
Different-stimulus Control. For this
condition, E exposed a stimulus for 15 sec.; then, he exposed a second
stimulus for about one sec., and S gave his rating to the second
stimulus. Since the exposure time for
the rated (second) stimulus was the same as under the initial normal condition,
no systematic changes in ratings were expected here, and this condition was
intended to serve as a control for the 15 sec. inspection task in the
experimental condition.
The 36 final ratings under these two inspection
conditions were systematically randomized for half of the group, and the
reverse order was used for the other half.
A summary of the procedure used for Group 1 is given in Table 19. The present procedure was exactly duplicated
for each of the other three groups, the only difference being the type of
stimuli used. Group 2 received the clear
photographs, Group 3 the underexposed photographs, and Group 4 received the
words or names of the objects themselves.
Subjects. The Ss were 88 students enrolled in
various courses at McGill University who volunteered to participate. Each of the four groups was composed of 22
people. The first 22 names on the list
of volunteers were placed in Group 1, the subsequent 22 in Group 2, etc. The same E tested all Ss and
they were given identical instructions, except, of course, for the reference to
the type of stimuli used with each group.
Results. Tests of significance were applied to the
polarity-difference scores between the first and second half of each group to
determine the effect of the presentation order of the stimuli. None of the four t values were
significant (the larges, for Group 3, was 1.26, n.s.). The results for the two halves of each group
were therefore combined.
TABLE 20
Table 20 summarizes the various analyses carried
out. For each group, the mean initial
normal and final (after inspection) ratings and their standard deviations are
given. The mean score represents the
average intensity of rating six scales; it was obtained for each S by
dividing the sum of his 36 ratings by 3.
Also given are the mean polarity-difference scores for each group and
their significance level for departure from zero, the point of no change. It can be seen that Group 1 (objects) has a
significant positive difference score, indicating a semantic generation
effect, while Group 4 (words) has a significant negative difference score,
indicating a semantic satiation effect.
The difference means for Groups 2 and 3 are both negative, but neither
is significantly different from zero.
Comparison between polarity-difference scores for
experimental and control conditions within each group reveals that all except
Group 2 are significantly different from each other.
The data in Table 20 are plotted in Figures 1 and
2. It can be seen in Fig. 1 that the initial
extremity of ratings for the control stimuli are consistently and significantly
(except in the case of Group 4) higher than that of the experimental
stimuli. These differences could be due
To the
different procedure for presenting stimuli used in the two conditions or,
possibly, to the stimuli actually used for each condition. It is unlikely, however, that initial
differences between experimental and control stimuli influenced the
experimental effects to be noted in Fig. 2 since all scores fall within the
middle range of the extremity continuum and since no systematic relation is
noted between initial and final polarity scores.
The
difference in extremity of initial ratings for the four types of stimuli within
either the control or experimental condition is not significant as indicated by
a one-way analysis of variance by ranks (H = 1.48; n.s., for the initial
experimental curve; and H = 3.62; n.s., for the initial control curve).
The
main experimental finding is plotted in Fig. 2.
A one-way analysis of variance for the experimental data revealed a
highly significant effect (F = 7.95; P
< .001). The comparable analysis for
the control data showed an insignificant effect (F = 0.81).
Discussion. The main purpose of the present experiment
was to show that extinction is inversely related to stimulus complexity. It is apparent, however, that the results of
this study show that our theoretical position needs further elaboration. One conclusion is evident from the present
findings: the type of degree of semantic changes that take place with repeated
presentation depend on the characteristics of the stimuli involved. The following hypothesis suggests itself: the
direction and strength of semantic change following repeated presentation is a
function of the total number of representational mediation responses which can
potentially be brought into play by a particular stimulus during the time of
its inspection. If this number is large,
the strength and number of mediation processes which are elicited will increase
in proportion to the extent of inspection time, promoting semantic generation;
if the number is relatively small, repeated elicitation will quickly lead to
neural reactive inhibition or semantic satiation. Table 18 illustrates how the four types of
stimuli used in the present experiment likely differ with regard to certain
visual characteristics such as depth, detail, and size. In each case, the relevant characteristics
are potential elicitors or representational (meaning) responses. Theoretically, the semantic differential
should be able to index there differences among the four types of stimuli. It is likely that if appropriate scales were
chosen, differences in terms of two or three dimensionality, redness or
greenness, roughness or smoothness, length, etc., would emerge. When the stimulus is a word, few if any of the
visual dimensions are specifically relevant and the semantic ratings along such
dimensions should approach the neutral point.
With photographs, some are relevant, others are not, and with objects,
all of the dimensions are relevant.
Hence, in accordance with the above hypothesis, repeated presentation
should promote semantic satiation with words as stimuli and semantic generation
with objects as stimuli, while photographs should promote some intermediary
degree of change, depending on the number of potentially relevant stimuli
inherent in the particular photographs.
It
is evident that the status of this ex post facto hypothesis is as yet
untested, and further empirical work is necessary to determine whether it adds
to our understanding of representational meaning responses. At the present stage, we can only suggest
some testable predictions which follow from our hypothesis. Thus, if the inspection time of objects in
increased beyond some empirically determined point, semantic satiation should
manifest itself since the number of potential meaning responses that can be
elicited may be large but not infinite.
Similarly, if the inspection time for words is decreased sufficiently,
before inhibition occurs, semantic generation should be noted at the early stages.21
Furthermore, meaning responses which are initially strong i.e. with
high reaction potential) will be more resistant to semantic change. Such responses could be elicited during high
drive states (e.g. food related words presented to hungry Ss). Similarly, responses that tend to be dominant
for a particular individual (e.g. words selected from a Ss dominant
value area as measured by the Allport-Vernon scale of
values, or words chosen from bilinguals mother tongue, etc.) should also be
more resistant to extinction.
Summary.
The
present study ahs investigated the effects of repeated stimulation of different
types of stimuli upon their meaning change.
Four types of stimuli were used.
These were conceptualized as varying along a stimulus complexity
continuum from highly specific and complex (objects) to least specific and
simple (words), with clear and underexposed photographs falling in between
these two points. There four types of
stimuli were each administered separately to four different groups of Ss under an experimental inspection
________________________________-
21
In a recent study, Johnson, Thomson, and Frincke
(1960) have provided evidence of semantic generation of verbal stimuli
presented at frequencies well below those used in our experiments which produce
semantic satiation.
condition
as well as under a control condition.
Comparison of the semantic changes obtained with each of the four groups
showed that they differed significantly on the inspection condition, but not on
the control. These differences were
related to the characteristics of the stimuli used with each group and general
hypothesis to account for the data was formulated.
CHAPTER VIII
THE EFFECTS OF REPETITIONIN COMMUNICATION
AND SOME CONSIDERATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO
SATIATION
The
Molar Approach.
In the introduction a basic paradox was posed:
repeated stimulation of the organism leads both to an increase in response probability
(learning) and decrease to susceptibility to respond (extinction). In the preceding chapters we have presented
experimental evidence of various sorts in which the presumed operation of
semantic satiation following repeated presentation of stimuli was
illustrated. In all of these studies
emphasis was placed upon the experimental isolation of stimuli and precise
measurement of the extinction effects.
As a consequence, the materials used were simple, discreet, well-defined
stimuli such as individual words, numbers, or objects presented on index
cards. Furthermore, our interest so far
has been with the effects of experimental treatments upon whole groups of Ss,
disregarding individual differences. In
the present chapter we shall examine the effects of repeated stimulation in
real life situations such as those occurring in the mass media where the Ss
environment is made up of a complex set of stimuli, which are most often
difficult to specify. We shall also pay
closer attention to some personality variables which seem to mediate individual
differences in reactions to repeated stimulation. It will soon become apparent from the
tentative nature of the conclusions that our efforts in this area are less
successful than in the cases where we could freely manipulate experimental and
control variables. Nevertheless, the
present attempt represents a step in the direction of determining the
importance of semantic satiation in the more molar aspects of human behavior.
Repetition
in Mass Media.
Part of the current interest in opinion and attitude
change can be traced to the development of the mass communication media in this
century. It is surprising to find that
among the many variables which have been investigated in this area, the effects
of repeated presentation of communications upon attitude and opinion change has
received almost no attention from investigators. In fact, an examination of the pertinent
literature has revealed less than half a dozen studies which bear upon this
point. In a recent review in the flow of
information among scientists published by the National Science Foundation
(1960), the desirability of investigating the effects of repetition in
communication was also expressed as follows: From the point of view of the
consumer of information it seems sometimes necessary to be exposed to the
information repeatedly, before it will make an impact (P. 49). Hollingworth (1953)
has summarized the work of Jersild (1928; 1929) on
the effects of speech emphasis, and the following three conclusions are worth
noting: (1) Among the special devices usable in oral delivery by way of
emphasis, the most effective, though not the most economical, is repetition, to
the extent of three or more assertions.:
(2) The effect of repetition follows a law of diminishing
returns. 93) Repetitions are most
effective when they are spaced or distributed rather than massed at one point
of the discourse (P. 107). These
conclusions should be taken with caution inasmuch as another investigator (Ehrensberger, 1945) subsequently found that massed
repetitions are more effective than distributed ones, and in view of the fact
that Cantril and Allport
(1935) have presented evidence which suggests that the effect of repetition
varies with the type of communication involved.22 A more recent study by Cromwell and Kunkel
(1952) examined the cumulative effects upon attitude change of a propaganda
_________________________
22 For example, repetition
improves comprehension and retention for factual material but not for new and
ads. Also, the authors report that
repetitious materials were rated less interesting by the audience.
Message
presented twice within a 30 day period and reported positive results,
corroborating Gardners (1935) earlier findings.
Despite the lack of experimental data on this
variable, it is evident that, as Abelson remarks, we
dont have to look farabout as far as the living room radio or televisionfor
evidence that persuasion by repetition has an army of proponents (1959, p.
48). Indeed, a cherished principle in
mass media advertising seems to be that of repetition, to that great distress,
we might add, of many consumers. As we
have pointed out before, all learning depends on repeated presentation of certain
stimulus materials. It is then of both
theoretical and practical importance to determine under what conditions such
repeated stimulation is constructive, as in learning, or disruptive, as in
satiation. To do so, the researcher
would have to systematically study the effects upon meaning and attitude of
different amounts of presentation of particular stimuli. In fact, three independent variables are
apparently involved in such a plan:
number of presentations of the stimulus materials, the type of stimulus
materials used, and the characteristics of the individuals tested, their past
experiences, attitudes and other relevant features of personality.
The meaningfulness of words appears to be a direct
function of familiarity or number of previous presentation, i.e. the more
familiar the word, the more meaningful it is (see Noble, 1953); Underwood and
Schulz, 1960). However, from our studies
on semantic satiation one realizes that if the number of presentations is
increased beyond a certain point, meaningfulness decreases, as is the case, for
example, with very frequently used fad words which lose their original
meaningfulness. We have also verified
the fact that concepts lose meaning though repetition and that this effect
tends to persist for at least several minutes. 23 These findings suggest that the relation
between frequency of presentation of a stimulus and its meaningfulness is of
the type represented by an inverted U distribution. We have referred to the rising part of the
curve (which denotes increase in meaning) as semantic generation and the
descending part (which denotes loss of meaning) as semantic satiation; the
point where the curve changes inflection might appropriately be called the
critical point.
The extension of this curve to mass communication
suggests that if a message is transmitted through a communication
________________________
23 Karsten
(1929) has measured substantial satiation effects of a line drawing task eight
days after the last repetition of the task, and Wertheimer (1958) measured the
persistence of satiation in kniaesthetic figural
after-effects up to half a year after original inspection.
systems,
its meaningfulness and effectiveness will increase as the frequency of
transmission is increased until the critical point is reached (of. The
cumulative effects upon retention of repetition reported above). If frequency of transmission is then further
increased, not only will there be diminishing returns in effectiveness, but
also the meaningfulness of the message will gradually decrease, as will its effectiveness
for inducing further changes in attitude and behavior. 24 This line of argument also applies to
educational and informational messages.
It is of major interest, then, to determine the forms of such curves for
various stimuli as materials.
An experimental design investigating the present
problem should incorporate variations in amount of repetition of stimulus
materials, content of the communications presented, and personality
characteristics of the audience. Using a
number of groups of Ss drawn randomly from some specified population
(e.g. college students, housewives, high school middle class males), the same
stimulus materials could be presented various numbers of times to different
groups, comparing differences in amount of meaning and attitudinal change for
various groups. For example, one group
would be given a particular
________________________
24 a comcemmintant
factor worth investigating here is the increase in negative responses to
repetitious materials.
communication
once, another group five times, a third ten times, and a fourth group twenty
times. Meaning and attitude changes
would be measured in each case immediately after the last presentation, and at
various time intervals thereafter, to determine the permanence of changes.
Ss should
be chosen who vary in their social values as measured by some sort of scale,
such as the Allport-Vernon Scale of Values (Vernon
and Allport, 1931).
For example, Ss who are theoretically oriented (the theoretical
scale being prominent for them) would be presented stimulus materials which are
consonant with their values in one condition, or materials which are dissonant
with their values in another condition.
Thus a group of highly theoretical Ss would be given materials
which are favorable to theoretical issues in one case and materials which are
anti-theoretical in the other case.
Subgroups within each condition would be presented either consonant or
dissonant communications for various numbers of times.
In addition to varying the consonance of materials in
accordance with value patterns, the stimulus materials should be varied in
complexity ranging from simple words to more complex communicational
messages. At the simple level, single
words, chosen to be consonant or dissonant with the value areas of individuals,
would be subjected to the semantic satiation treatment. Changes in meaning will be related to
variations in the number of presentations given. It is likely that different locations of
critical points will emerge when consonant and dissonant materials are
compared.
At a second level of complexity, other subgroups of Ss
could be given short messages
involving consonant and dissonant themes, and the same messages would be
repeated for various numbers of trials.
Meaning change for key words would be examined and critical points
compared for subgroups receiving different numbers of re-presentations. Comprehension and retention measures could
also be taken.
Finally, complex messages could be constructed varying in actual
message content and wording but having a common theme which recurs in each
presentation. The real-life analogue of
this condition is regularly encountered in television communication where a
series of programs with a common theme is offered to viewers (e.g. themes such
as the state of affairs in the communist country, episodes of experiences with
Germans and Japanese in World War II, violence and aggression in standardized
serial programs, general content of educational courses, and advertisement.). Here are the reinforcing or interference
effects of joint auditory and visual repetition ought to be investigated. Again the common theme should be consonant
for some groups and dissonant for others.
Key words which reflect the theme could be measured for connotative
meaning before presentations and again after the particular series of
re-presentations assigned each group.
In summary, our plan calls for a survey of the fate
of meanings and attitudes of communicational materials as they are presented a number
of times. The design pays attention to
variations in the complexity of materials presented, the number of
presentations given to determine the point where meanings and attitudes are
most extreme, and the personality characteristics of Ss who will serve
as audiences for the communications.
Efforts are now being made in our laboratory to carry out a plan as
presently outlined. Its outcome will be
a major test of the usefulness of the theoretical model of semantic satiation
presented in this thesis.
A
Study on Hit parade Songs.
A familiar feature of any radio station in Canada and
the Untied States today is the Hit parade program, the playing of the nations
most popular songs. Normally, these
songs are arranged in rank order in terms of their popularity. Each week the ranks are adjusted to reflect
changes in popular demand and taste.
Weekly surveys are made by various agencies and are based on various
measures including one or more of the following: record sales, disk jockey
ratings, and frequency counts on juke boxes in restaurants, dance halls,
etc. A prediction concerning the ups and
downs of song popularity in terms of the principle of semantic satiation comes
to mind. It was argued that the rate at
which any particular song disappeared from the Hit Parade would be related to
the frequency with which it was heard by the public during the time just
preceding its downfall. The more
frequently a song would be played within a short span of time (i.e. it has high
saturation), the more it would be subject to semantic satiation, and the
faster it should lose popularity as indexed by the weekly rankings. Accordingly, a significant relation was
predicted between the rate at which a song would lose popularity and its
saturation value just preceding the decline.
It was realized that semantic satiation would be only one among the many
variables that could influence relative standings of these songs.25 Furthermore, the prediction does not take
into account interaction factors such as the appeal value
________________________________
25 One other important
variable which would tend to reduce the size of the predicted relationship is
the degree to which disk jockeys tend to push particular records, a
widespread activity which became known during recent congressional hearings on
payola in the United States.
of
particular songs and the artists who introduce them, the number of other
records on the Hit Parade by the same artist (I.e. his exposure value), the
degree of semantic station exhibited by the other songs, etc. Despite these shortcomings, however, it will
be seen that our prediction received support from the analysis to a surprising
degree.
Method. This attempt was handicapped by the
difficulty of obtaining the type of frequency data necessary for a complete
analysis. The most comprehensive data
available were the listings of popular songs in the United States published by Variety,
a weekly magazine which deals with show business. Tables in this magazine list the first 45
songs in rank order with title, artist, and publisher. They are complied on the basis of weekly
surveys of disk jockeys at radio stations throughout the country and purport to
reflect the relative frequencies with which the 45 songs are heard on the
air. On the basis of these listings we
devised measure of saturation, and rate of decline and rise was arbitrarily
defined as the number of weeks between the time a song was first listed in the
tables and the point at which it fell below the tenth rank. Two considerations determined the choice of
this measure: first, the Top Ten is a regular program on many station, and
thus this cut off point seemed to have some face validity; second, a particular
song typically fluctuates from week to week within the top ten, whereas once it
has gone below the tenth rank, its decline is much smoother. For reasons mentioned below, only those songs
were analyzed which were listed in the tables for at least ten consecutive
weeks. In a minority of the cases, some
of these songs did not reach the top ten.
For these songs, the period of rise was defined as the interval of time
between the moment it was first listed in the tables and the week it reached
its highest rant. (b) Decline; the
period of decline was defined as the period of decline divided by the songs
total life span (i.e. total number of weeks it was listed in the tables). The smaller this proportion, the greater rate
of decline it indicates. In order to
make the subsequent interpretation of the data simpler, we subtracted this
proportion from 1, so that high scores indicate high rate of decline or fast
decline. (c) Saturation: this score was defined as the proportion of
time a song is in the top ten during its rise.
It is a measure of how frequently a song is heard during its
introduction to the public. The greater
this proportion, the greater saturation it indicates.26
It is apparent that we have attempted to define our
measures of saturation and rate of decline as relative scores or proportions
since these seem to reflect more adequately the index we want, given rank order
data instead of frequencies. However,
even in the latter case, we would want to consider not just the absolute number
of times a given song was heard, but also how concentrated the presentations were. Thus for two songs that have the same
frequency value, the one which has shorter life span develops greater semantic
satiation. Given the measures defined
above, our prediction was that the greater the saturation score, the greater
should be the rate of decline. The
reverse, however, does not necessarily follow from the satiation prediction,
i.e. if the saturation score is low, the rate of decline will not necessarily
be low. This is so since there may be
other, independent factors affecting period of rise (e.g. its appeal value for
the public). Our prediction does imply,
however, that no matter how high the appeal value of a song is, satiation will
develop with high saturation, and consequently, its rate of decline will be
high.
_________________________________
26
This measure indexes what disk jockeys often refer to as terrific jump.
To insure against the possibility that we have
artificially built in a correlation by our particular measure, we decided to make
several other comparisons using the raw and unadjusted data. One of these, for example, is the relation
between the time in top ten rankings and the period of decline. Here, the semantic satiation principle
predicts a negative relation: the longer a song remains in the top ten, the
more frequently it will be heard, and the less time it should remain in the
bottom 35 during its decline, Other
recline (predicted relation: negative), have also been examined and these will
be presented below.
One might say that these predictions follow from
common sense and we need not refer to the operation of the semantic satiation
principle. However, unless the :common
sense explanation invokes a similar process (e.g. people get bored with a
song that is played too often), the opposite relationships could be
equally well predicted (e.g. the faster a song reaches the top ten and the
longer it stays there, the better it is and the longer it should take to
disappear from the listings, i.e. the slower its rate of decline).27
__________________________________
27
In fact, an informal survey among the writers colleagues favored this last
prediction two to one.
The six-month period of January to June 1959 was
examined in Variety magazine, and the course of each song was
recorded. A total of 335 different songs
were listed during the 24-week period.
There were large variations in the regularity and life span of these
songs. Most of them never reached the
top ten and stayed in the listings for only four or five weeks. Others disappeared for several weeks before
reappearing again for a couple of weeks.
It was felt that in order to test our satiation prediction adequately
only those songs should be analyzed which were listed in the tables for the
least ten consecutive weeks. This
criterion would insure a certain degree of regularity as well as sufficient
time to observe the operation of systematic changes. Furthermore, it was felt that semantic
satiation would not be determining factor unless the songs were heard for
several consecutive weeks. Thirty-three
songs during the six month period (or about 10%) met the above criterion, and
the analysis was based on these only.
Results and Discussion. Table 21
presents the raw data obtained on the 33 songs as well as the two measures of
saturation and rate of decline. The
intercorrelations among the seven variables are presented in Table 22. It can be seen that our prediction of
significant relation between saturation and rate of decline is substantiated at
well below
the
1% level of significance. Furthermore,
the following additional relationships emerge, all of which further support the
satiation prediction: (a) the loner the time spent in the top ten, the shorter
the period of decline, the higher the rate of decline, and the less the time
spent in the bottom 35; (b) the higher the saturation, the shorter the period
of decline, the faster the rate of decline, and the less time spent in the
bottom 35; (c) the loner the period of rise, the shorter the period of decline,
and the less time spent in the bottom 35.28
The other significant correlations in Table 22
reflect the similarity between the measures used. For example: the longer the period of rise,
the more time spent in the top ten, and the higher the saturation; also, the shorter
the period of decline, the higher the rate of decline, the less time spent in
the bottom 35. In general, the variable
of total a finding which suggests that other variables are operating in this
complex situation.
Despite these favorable results one must exert
caution
_______________________
28
This last relationship is meaningful in the light of the fact that, as can be
seen in Table 21, a song, during its period of rise, spends most of its time in
the top ten. The correlation of +.78
between these two variables also reflects this fact.
in
the conclusions which might be based on them.
In the first place, as has been mentioned above, the analysis was
limited to a sample of songs that stayed in the listings for at least ten weeks
in a row. This might limit the
generality of the results. In the second
place, the results are based on rank data, while a true test of the satiation
hypothesis should be based on actual frequency data, preferably the counter
frequencies on juke boxes. Also, it is
entirely possible that the relationships demonstrated here reflect the
satiation curve of the disk jockey himself, not that of his audience, or even,
the deliberate policies of publishing companies.29 These alternate possibilities for explaining
the results clearly point to the desirability of replicating the above analysis
with a different set of data, including not only Hit Parade songs, but also
other mass media phenomena where the principle of satiation may operate (e.g.
television serials, popular books, fads in clothing and dances, etc.)
Individual
Differences in Semantic Satiability.
We have pointed out at the beginning of this chapter
that when investigating the effects of repeated simulation,
_______________________________
the hit record. 29 For example,
if a record has had great initial success and most of the buyers have already
acquired it, the publisher may deliberately attempt to push new records (for
more sales), which would result in a faster decline of the hit record.
the
personality characteristics of the Ss may be important determinants of
the degree or extent of semantic satiation actually exhibited in any particular
situation. The importance of individual
differences in susceptibility to conditioning and extinction has been noted by
many investigators. We have mentioned
previously (Chapter I) the work of Eysenck (1955;
1956) and Wertheimer (1954) who have made an attempt to relate satiation
measures to personality variables (e.g. conditionability,
extraversion-introversion) and have formulated separate theories which view
these individual differences in terms of innate cortical excitation inhibition
(or modifiability) characteristics. The
results which will be presented below represent an attempt on our part to deal
with the problem of personality correlates of semantic satiability)
characteristics. The results which will
be presented below represent an attempt on our part to deal with the problem of
personality correlates of semantic satiability. 30 This unsystematic attempt can only be taken
as preliminary effort in this direction and, as will soon become apparent, it
actually raises more questions than it answers.
Reliability.
A preliminary consideration in attempt to relate
semantic satiability to other personality variables is its reliability as an
index of an individuals reactions to repeated presentation
_____________________
30
I am indebted to Jerry Sepinwall for assisting me in
the gathering and analysis of these data.
of
verbal material. Hence, our first step
was to try to assess this reliability.
For this purpose, two forms of the semantic differential (A and B) were
prepared by selecting two different sets of six words and scales that appeared
superficially equivalent in terms of familiarity, meaningfulness, and
scale-concept relevance. The semantic
satiation treatment using Form A was administered to a group of 30 male tenth
grade high school students. A week
later, Form B was given, using the same procedure. During the third week, Form A was administered
again to the same Ss. Since we
has previous reasons to suppose hat semantic satiability was related to success
in language learning (see p. 113), we also obtained from the school principal
oral and written French (foreign language) grades for these Ss as well
as their IQ scores (Henmon-Nelson). The resulting set of intercorrelations among
the six variables is given in Table 23.
It can be seen that the only significant correlations are among oral and
written French grades and IQ. Test
retest reliability coefficients for either the same or different forms on the
semantic satiation test are not significant.
If anything, they seem to be negatively related.
It is worth noting,
that although none of the correlations between French grades and satiation
scores were
significant,
the hypothesis of a relation between semantic satiatiability
and success in language learning received support from a different analysis of
the data. When the Ss were
separated on the basis of success in oral French into two groups, one high
(first class standing, i.e. 80% or above), the other group low (i.e. below
80%), it was found that the high group (N=12) had a mean polarity-difference
score during the first satiation treatment of 5.33 (i.e. a semantic generation
effect), while the lower group (N = 18) had a mean polarity-difference score of
1.83 (t = 2.17; P < .05) (a semantic satiation effect). This is support for our previously stated hypothesis
that semantic satiability is negatively related to success in second language.
The lack of test retest reliability of semantic
satiability is reminiscent of the low reliability of other satiation measures
such as kinaesthetic and figural after effects. This lack of reliability has been attributed
to the persistence effects observed with satiation phenomena (cf. Wertheimer
and Leventhal, 1958) which obviate attempts to
demonstrate test rates reliability.
However, split-half reliabilities have fared better inasmuch as they are
less subject to distortion effects. In
the present case the split-half reliability coefficients for odd-even responses
on the three semantic satiation tests were .53, .55, and .57, respectively, all
three being significant at beyond the 1% level of confidence. Examination of the satiation scores for the
three testings suggests the presence of persistence
and cumulative effects of the semantic satiation treatment; these means were,
in order of testing sessions, as follows: 0.03 (t = 0.60; n.s.), 0.01 (t =
0.13; n.s.), and 0.08 (t = 2.44 < .05).31
This shows that only on the third successive testing (or the second
testing with the same form) did the group as a whole exhibit a significant
semantic satiation effect. This is in
striking contrast with the large significant satiation effects obtained on the
first testing with college students and adults in our previous studies. These differences suggest that age might
perhaps be related to susceptibility to the semantic satiation effect. Warren (1961a) has found in connection with
his verbal transformation effect that his younger group) aged 18-25, i.e.
similar to our college population) exhibit less stable perceptions with
repetition of auditirily presented verbal stimuli than
an older group (aged 62-86). If lack of
stability in Warrens situation can be interpreted as a phenomenon akin to
semantic satiation, then the hypothesis
_____________________________
31
These means represent polarity-difference scores per individual rating.
suggests
itself that the relation between age and semantic satiability is of an
inverted-U type, with middle aged Ss exhibiting larger satiation effects
than both children and the aged. For the
present, however, we have no data that bear upon this point.
Repeated
Testing with the Semantic Differential.
The possibility of the existence of systematic
effects in repeated testing with the semantic differential should be examined
inasmuch as it, together with the persistence and cumulative effects of the
satiation treatment, may also affect test retest reliability. Both problems were further studied by
administering the semantic differential a number of times to several groups of Ss
under repetition conditions (semantic satiation) as well as under normal
conditions. The polarity of ratings
during each testing was recorded and the results are presented in Fig. 3. Group A received the semantic satiation
treatment twice, separated by one-week interval; Group B received the semantic
satiation treatment twice separated by a three-week interval. Testing I and III represent polarity ratings
prior to verbal repetition, while testing II and IV represent post-repetition
ratings. Group C received three
administrations of the semantic satiation treatment; this
group has already been mentioned in the previous
section (see Table 23). Testings I, III, and V represent pre-repetition ratings,
while testings II, IV , and VI represent post-repetition
ratings. Group D simply filled out a
semantic differential booklet five times at weekly intervals. One form was used during testings
I, III, and V, while a different from was used for testings
II and IV. Inspection of Fig. 3 reveals
a general trend of decrease in polarity of ratings with repeated administration
of the semantic differential task. The
effect is noticeable not only with semantic satiation treatments with identical
forms (Groups A and B), but also with semantic satiation treatment with
alternate forms (Group C) as well as with normal semantic differential ratings
(no semantic satiation treatment) with alternate forms (Group D). Two separate interpretations of these results
can be offered. One relates to the
argument of Osgood and Tannenbaum (1955) that the
degree of polarity of ratings on the semantic differential is inversely related
to Ss sophistication. It is
possible that with repeated testings Ss become
more sophisticated with the instrument and tend to give less extreme
ratings. The other interpretation is in
terms of persistence and cumulative effects of responses to repeated stimulus
conditions of a similar nature. This
effect may be both specific to the particular words and scales used (in the
case of semantic satiation treatment with identical forms), and/or generalized
to the rating task itself (in the case of alternate forms with or without
verbal repetition). It is not unlikely
that both effects referred in these two interpretations operate in the testing
situations summarized in Fig. 3.
A
Replication Attempt.
In the previous section we have presented some data
which bears upon the possible relationship between semantic satiability and
success in second language acquisition. We
have attempted to investigate this relationship further by administering to a
group of male tenth grade high school students two paired-associate tasks along
with the semantic satiation treatment, on the assumption that these learning
tasks represent a particular skill necessary in foreign language acquisition
which may be more closely dependent upon semantic satiability than other
aspects of language learning skills (see Carroll, 1960). Paired-Associates I consisted of 14 pairs of
unrelated meaningful words presented in a standard memory drum at 1:1 exposure
rate with a 3-sec. intertribal interval.
The Ss scores represent the number of trials necessary to reach
a criterion of one errorless repetition.
Thus, low scores on this task represent fast learning. Paired-Associates II consisted of Test B of
the Foreign Language Aptitude Battery (Carroll and Sapon,
1955) which consists of 24 pairs of nonsense syllables and meaningful
words. These appear on a single sheet of
paper and Ss are given four minutes to study it, after which they are
handed a test sheet on which they have to underline the correct English
alternative to each of the nonsense syllables.
Here, high scores represent many correct recognitions or high success.
In addition to the two paired-associate learning
tasks four other measures were administered to the same group. These were included because it seemed from
the psychological literature that they may have something to do with individual
differences in satiability. One was
the California F Scale (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswick,
Levinson, and Sanford, 1950) which has been used by other investigators as a
measure of authoritarianism (the higher the score on this questionnaire, the
more authoritarian the person is considered).
A second measure was a Persuasibility test
specially devised for the present experiment.
Ss were asked to fill out an attitude form of the semantic
differential (i.e. evaluative scales only) on five persons who were likely to
be well known to a Montreal high school population (Sugar Ray Robinson, John
Diefenbaker, Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro, and Maurice Rocket
Richard). Then, each S was given
a written propaganda statement about the first three people designed to change
the attitude of the Ss toward them.
The statements were favorable toward Robinson and Diefenbaker, and
favorable toward Khrushchev. Then, the Ss
were given the semantic differential booklet a second time, and the degree of
change in ratings toward the advocated evaluative poles was subsequently
analyzed. The greater these changes
were, the more persuasible the Ss were considered.32
Another variable (Polarity I) was the polarity score for each S
on the initial ratings of the concepts used in the semantic satiation treatment
(snail, money, and anger). The
last variable (Polarity II) was the polarity of the initial ratings given to
the five social controversial figures used in the persuasibility
test. The reason for including the last
two variables was that one investigator (Mogar, 1960)
has recently reported significant positive relationships between the F Scale
and the tendency to give extreme ratings on the semantic differential, more so
in the case of controversial
____________________________________________
32 As a check on the
effectiveness of the propaganda we calculated the difference between the mean
amount of change on the three experimental concepts and the amount of change on
the two other concepts, and the former was found to be significantly greater than
the latter (t = 4.67; P < .001).
social
concepts (here, Polarity II) than in the case of noncontroversial
concepts (here, Polarity I). It was our
feeling that both extremity of ratings and the F Scale might be related to persuasibility and semantic satiability.
The Ss were tested individually over the
two-month period. Fro some, testing
program was completed in two sessions of a little over an hour each, while for
others, three shorter sessions were necessary.
Not all Ss completed the whole testing program so that N
for the intercorrelations given in Table 24 varies from a low of 9 (r
between variables 3 and 4) to a high of 52.
Inspection of Table 24, which presents the
intercorrelations among the seven variables, reveals the following points: (1)
Semantic Satiability and Paired-Associates I are negatively related, indicating
that Ss who are prone to exhibit semantic satiation with verbal
repetition are less successful in a standard paired-associate learning task
than are Ss who are less semantically satiable; this finding is, then,
in agreement with our previously stated hypothesis. (2) The intercorrelations
between the F Scale, Paired-Associates II, Persuasibility,
and Polarity II indicate that the more authoritarian a S is, the more persuasible
he is, the more extreme his ratings are on social controversial
concepts,
and the less successful he is on a paired-associate task of a particular nature.33 (3) Ss who give extreme ratings on social
controversial concepts also tend to give extreme ratings on noncontroversial
concepts. (4) Semantic Satiability is
not significantly related to Authoritarianism, Persuasibility,
Paired-Associates II, and extremity of ratings.
(5) The two paired-associate tasks are not significantly correlated with
each other. The correlations of -.40 is
in the proper direction, however, since a small number of trials to reach
criterion on task I and a high recognition score on task II both indicate
efficient learning. This lack of
significance is difficult to evaluate since the number of Ss who are
given both tasks was only 9.
In an attempt to verify the
generality of the above findings we have administered a similar testing program
to a group of 32 male and female public school teachers (whose
__________________________________
33 The instructions on the
Paired-Associate II task which are taken from Carroll and Sapon
(1955) introduce the material as an English-Kurdish vocabulary. It is possible that Ss attitudes
toward Kurdish or foreign Language may have contaminated the task as an
index of verbal learning ability.
This may account for the relation
between this task and the F Scale (i.e. the more authoritarian a S is,
the more ethnocentric, the more negatively oriented he is toward foreign
objects, and the less willing he is to acquire the Kurdish vocabulary; see
Lambert, 1962).
mean
age was 23 years) enrolled in various courses in summer school. The results obtained with this group were
essentially the same as those just described with the high school group:
semantic satiability was again negatively related to paired-associate learning
(r = -0.31; P < .10), but not to authoritarianism (r = .23) or persuasibility (r = .10); the latter two measure were
significantly related to each other (r = .40; P < .05) and with extremity of
ratings on the social controversial concepts (r = .46; P < .05, and r = .58;
P < .01, respectively).34 in addition,
age was found to be negatively related to efficiency in paired-associate
learning (r = -.43; P < .02).
It would appear from the results on the two groups
that the negative relation between semantic satiability and verbal learning of
the paired-associate type is stable and can be relocated on samples of two
different populations. On the other
hand, the other personality correlates used in this study (authoritarianism, persuasibility, tendency to give extreme ratings) do not
seem to related to semantic satiability.
This conclusion is necessarily limited to the
___________________________
34 These concepts for the
present group were: James Coyne and Donald Fleming, two figures involved in a
lively political controversy at the time of testing. The propaganda statements were favorable to
Coyne and unfavorable to Fleming.
particular
methods we have used in the present attempt to index these personality
variables. This limitation is especially
noteworthy in the case of persuasibility for which
there is not a single reliable measure of any certain validity available. The persuasibility
test used here has been devised by the present investigator and he has no data
on its reliability or objective validity beyond the knowledge of the stability
of semantic differential ratings and the instruments face validity.
Summary.
In the present chapter we have investigate the role
of semantic satiation in mass media and communication as well as the problem of
individual differences in susceptibility to the satiation effect (semantic
satiability). We have shown how a
prediction concerning the role of semantic satiation in song popularity was
supported by an analysis of the fate of Hit Parade songs. It was also found that semantic satiability
is negatively related to success in verbal learning of the standard
paired-associate type. The results on
the relation between semantic satiability and other personality characteristics
(authoritarianism, persuasibility, tendency to give
extreme judgments with the semantic differential) were generally negative. It was suggested that the findings presented
in this chapter are to looked upon as tentative pending further investigation.
CHAPTER IX
SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW
Chapter
I.
The
effects of repeated stimulation on behavior have previously been interpreted as
developing either inhibition, when a response decrement occurs following
repeated elicitation, or satiation, when sensory adaptation takes place
following continuous stimulation.
Several authors have advanced various theories which view the phenomena
related to both inhibition and satiation as different manifestations of an
innate characteristic of the organism, namely the extent to which the central
nervous system exhibits neural fatigue under continuous activity.
Chapter
II.
Researchers in Titcheners
laboratory have reported that when a word is continuously repeated by a subject
the words meaning lapses. This
phenomenon, which came to be known as verbal satiation, is logically one
example of the effects of repeated stimulation, but it was not extensively
investigated by psychologists. The
paucity of the experiments on verbal satiation is puzzling in view of the
importance generally attributed to symbolic processes, language, and thinking
by many theorists. Researchers likely
felt uneasy about studying meaning or changes in meaning because no objective
tool was available for measuring these phenomena. The recent development of the semantic
differential has opened up the possibility of experimentally investigating
meaning changes under repeated presentation.
An experiment was described in which it was shown that verbal repetition
of familiar words results in a decrease in the intensity of their meaning as
measured by the semantic differential.
This effect was labeled semantic satiation.
Chapter
III.
Psychologists
are interested in two aspects of language behavior: the learning of the meaning
of signs (decoding), and their use in speaking and thinking (encoding). Decoding can be viewed as the elicitation by
a sign of a learned implicit representational mediation response which is
identified with the meaning of that sign.
Encoding relates to the problem of instrumental conditioning whereby an
overt response (either verbal or nonverbal) is conditioned to the inferred
meaning response. The problem in the
measurement of meaning is to obtain an indirect measure of representational
mediation responses. To the extent that
the semantic differential indexes the strength and type of representational
meditation responses elicited by assign, it can serve to test hypotheses about
the characteristics of meaning responses.
The assumption that implicity meaning
responses follow the same behavioral principles as overt responses offers the
possibility of experimentally studying the higher mental processes.
Studies of extinction reveal that repeated
elicitation of a response leads to its inhibition. If this principle is applied to meaning
responses, one would expect that their rapid and continued elicitation would
also lead to their inhibition. Consequently,
a word which is repeated should lose its meaning. Semantic satiation can be viewed as a
cognitive form of the more general phenomenon of extinction.
Chapter
IV.
An experiment was carried out to throw light on the
following two questions: 1. Are the
representational mediation responses peripheral (muscular or glandular
reactions) or control (purely neural) processes? 2. Is
the reduction in meaning involved in semantic satiation temporary or
permanent? The experimental procedure
required subjects to give semantic ratings of the words canoe and Negro
immediately after verbal repetition of nuka and grony, respectively.
These two disyliables are actually canoe and
negro pronounced backwards, and thus involve the same or approximately the
same muscular responses when continuously repeated. It was argued that if meaning responses are
mainly peripheral then repetition of nuka and grony should be reflected in the semantic ratings of
canoe and Negro, respectively. If,
on the other hand, meaning responses are mainly central, repetition of the
nonsense prologs should not affect the meaning of canoe and negro. The results clearly supported the central
interpretation of meaning. With respect
to the second question, evidence was presented which indicates that the
semantic satiation effect persists for at least several minutes. The upper limit was not actually tested.
Chapter
V.
The role of verbal symbols in thinking has been
emphasized by several writers. Thus, concept
formation has been described as the making of a common verbal mediating
response to a class of stimuli the members of which have some characteristics
in common. A card sorting problem was
decided in which subjects were required to categorize a set of words into two classes. The basis of classification could be either
semantic (i.e. the abstraction of a common meaning for one subject of the
words) or phonetographic (i.e. a division on the
basis of rhyming or word length). It was
predicted that semantic satiation of the concept representing the common
meaning element for a particular subset of words should decrease the likelihood
of semantic solutions and increase the number of phonetographic
ones. The results supported the second
part of the prediction, but not the first.
In a second experiment, the subjects were required to
repeat a number aloud just before they were given an addition task in which the
repeated number was one of the two additives.
The results confirmed the hypothesis that semantic satiation of a number
increases the difficulty of a computation task which involves that number.
Chapter
VI.
A well known characteristic of extinction is its
spread or generalization to other responses that are similar to the one which
is directly extinguished. This effect is
known as secondary extinction. If it
could be shown that semantic satiation also has this generalization tendency,
then its identification as a special instance of extinction would be made more
convincing. The following two
experiments were designed with the above purpose in mind.
In the first, subjects learned a paired-associate
list consisting of A-B members.
Subsequently, they learned a second list consisting of A-D pairs. The relation between the two lists was such that
D was the most common verbal associate to C, which, in turn, was the most
common associate to B, e.g. soldier-army-navy.
Previous investigators have shown that the learning of the A-D list was
facilitated by prior acquisition of the A-B list. This facilitation effect was attributed to
the mediation of the C words. In the
present experiment, the C words were satiated after acquisition of the A-B list
and prior to learning of the A-D list.
The results showed that satiation o the mediators (i.e. the C words)
significantly reduced the facilitation effect during learning of the A-D list,
thus supporting the hypothesis of a generalization of the effects of semantic
satiation from C to D words.
In the second experiment, French-English bilingual
subjects were required to repeat a word in one language prior to rating its
translated equivalent in the other language.
It was predicted that compound bilinguals (i.e. those that have
interdependent language systems) would exhibit a cross-linguistic semantic satiation
effect (cross-satiation), while coordinate bilinguals (i.e. those having
independent meaning systems) would not show the effect. The prediction was confirmed in that
cross-linguistic generalization of satiation took place for the compound bilinguals,
while the opposite effect (disinhibition) occurred
with the coordinates.
Chapter
VII.
It has been shown by several investigators that
extinction is inversely related to stimulus complexity. The purpose of the present experiment was to
show that semantic satiation varies inversely with stimulus complexity as
defined by a specificity-generality continuum. Four points on this continuum were
arbitrarily chosen as follows: objects,
black-and-white photographs, underexposed photographs, and words. Each of the four types of stimuli was
presented to a separate group of subjects under both an experimental inspection
condition (involving normal semantic differential ratings). Comparison of ratings before and after the
inspection conditions revealed that the kind of degree of meaning changes took
place were significantly affected by the type of stimuli presented. Words exhibited a semantic satiation effect
while objects showed the opposite effect (semantic generation). The semantic changes exhibited with
photographs were of an intermediary nature.
A more detailed hypothesis was formulated to account for the inverse
relationship between semantic satiation and stimulus complexity.
Chapter
VIII.
The study of the effects of repeated presentation of
stimuli upon their meaning can be extended to include the mass communication
media. Some of the variables which can
be investigated include the relation between amount of repetition of messages
and the degree of opinion and attitude change of listeners who vary in terms of
personality characteristics. The
operation of semantic satiation in mass media was illustrated by an analysis of
the behavior of popular songs on the Hit Parade. It was predicted that the rate at which songs
lose popularity would depend upon the frequency with which song is played
during its popular periods: the higher
this frequency, the greater the satiation developed, and the faster the song
should lose popularity.
Intercorrelations among various measures of gain and loss in popularity.
The problem of individual differences in
susceptibility to the semantic satiation effect was investigated by attempting
to relate semantic satiability to other personality variables. The only significant finding so far has been
a negative relation between satiability and success in learning a standard
paired-associate task. This positive
finding, as well as the negative results, should be looked upon as tentative
only until further investigations are considered.
Overview.
The role of verbal symbols in higher mental processes
has often been emphasized by psychologists.
Nevertheless, the effects of repeated presentation of verbal materials
upon behavior have not been extensively studied. Repeated presentation of verbal stimuli
results in a decrease or their meaning.
This effect, referred to as semantic satiation, was objectively measured
by means of the semantic differential. A
series of experiments was described in which the role of semantic satiation was
investigated in concept formation, addition tasks, verbal paired-associate
learning, and in cross-linguistic interference among bilinguals. At a different level of inquiry, the
operation of semantic satiation in mass media was illustrated by an analysis of
the fate of popular songs. An attempt
was also made to relate semantic satiation to properties of the stimulus
materials presented and personality characteristics of subjects. A theoretical interpretation was offered
which views semantic satiation as a cognitive form of the more general phenomenon
of extinction.
Direction
of Future Research.
The experiments reported in this thesis can be
conveniently divided into three classes: (A) Generalization or transfer of
semantic satiation (Chapters IV, V, and VI).
(B) The operation of semantic satiation in communication and mass media
(Chapter VIII, first part). (C) Semantic
satiability viewed as a personality characteristic (Chapter VIII, second part). Further research on the phenomenon of
semantic satiation could be initiated within each of these areas.
(A) Generalization of Semantic Satiation. The transfer
effects involved here can logically operate at three levels: (i) From verbal stimuli to other verbal stimuli. This was demonstrated in the generalization
of inhibition from one to the other of a bilinguals two languages (Chapter
VI). One would expect that the extent of
secondary satiation should be proportional to the degree of semantic similarity
between the primary and secondary stimuli as measured by some index such as the
semantic differential, or the extent of overlap in free association responses,
or rated similarity of the stimulus series.
(ii) From verbal to nonverbal stimuli.
The effect of verbal repletion upon this type of investigation (Chapter
V). It is possible to extend this line
of research to include purely motor tasks that need not be mediated by verbal
responses, e.g. driving an automobile, visual tracking of an object on a radar
screen, knitting and basket weaving, playing a musical instrument, etc. The possibility exists that, with such tasks,
the tendency to make verbal mediating-responses (verbalizations) hinders
efficient performance. One would then
expect that semantic satiation of these verbal mediation responses would
increase efficiency of performance.
(iii) From nonverbal to verbal stimuli.
This is the reverse effect of the previous one and its experimental
study would involve an inquiry into the affective an attitudinal changes that
take place during performance of repetitive tasks.
(B) Semantic Satiation in Communication and Mass Media. A research
program in this area has already been outlined in some detail (see pp.141 ff.).
(C) Individual Differences in Semantic Satiability. Several
writers have contended that individual differences in susceptibility to
satiation, as measured by reminiscence and visual and knaesthetic
after-effects, represents an innate characteristic of the central nervous
system that determines important aspect of the personality structure of an
individual. The method here to measure
satiation could serve as a useful tool in testing the above hypothesis.
Finally, little is known about the relation of rote
learning ability to intelligence and other personality aspects of the
individual. In this connection, our finding
of an inverse relation between semantic satiability and paired-associate
learning is most interesting and warrants further investigation.
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