SEMANTIC SATIATION OF WORDS AND NUMBERS*

Abstract

One purpose of the study reported is to compare the effect of continuous verbal repetition on the semantic ratings of words and numbers. A second is to examine the effectiveness of the semantic differential to index distinctive features of numbers as well as words. The procedure used is parallel to an earlier study on semantic satiation with words with the notable difference that, in the present case, a completely mechanized method is developed to present stimuli and record rating responses and their latencies. The following main findings are reported: (1) Regular semantic differential wales reflect significant satiation effects with words, but not with numbers, while a ‘Meaningful‐Meaningless’ scale indexes significant shifts toward the ‘Meaningless’ pole with numbers, but not with words. (2) Certain differences are observed between words and numbers in the manner in which these are rated on standard semantic differential scales. (3) The M‐shaped relationship between response latency and scale position reported earlier by Osgood is confirmed in the present paper. The implications of these findings in relation to the earlier study and with respect to the applicability of the semantic differential to numbers are discussed.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• McGill University CA

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