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The interaction of semantic features of transitive verbs and their objects

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Summary

Proceeding from the assumption that verbs imply their potential objects, an attempt was made to vary this implication by combining specific and general verbs (e.g. to adopt/to wash) with specific or general objects, respectively (e.g. boy/child). These 4 verb-object combinations were presented visually in simple subject-predicate-object sentences in a multitrial, free recall learning experiment. A highly significant interaction was found between verb and object variation. Specific verbs were better recalled when associated with general objects while general verbs were better recalled in association with specific objects.

Zusammenfassung

Ausgehend von der Annahme, daß Verben ihre möglichen Objekte bereits implizieren, wurde versucht, die Implikation für spezifische und allgemeine Verben dadurch zu variieren, daß sie mit jeweils einem spezifischen bzw. allgemeinen Objekt kombiniert wurden. Die 4 Verb-Objekt-Kombinationen wurden in einfachen Subjekt-Prädikat-Objekt-Sätzen in einem multitrial free recall Versuch optisch zum Lernen angeboten. Es zeigte sich eine hochsignifikante Wechselwirkung zwischen Verb- und Objektvariation. Spezifische Verben werden besser mit allgemeinen Objekten, allgemeine Verben besser mit spezifischen Objekten behalten.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychologisches Institut, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

    Johannes Engelkamp

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  1. Johannes Engelkamp
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Additional information

The paper is based on an experiment conducted and evaluated by Anke Grashorn, as part of her diploma thesis, under the author's supervision.

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Engelkamp, J. The interaction of semantic features of transitive verbs and their objects. Psychol. Res 37, 299–308 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00309724

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00309724

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