Abstract
The meaningfulness of nonsense syllables has generally been considered in terms of Ss’ ratings and use of associations and pronounceability. The redundancy of nonsense syllables was quantified by means of their component transitional probabilities, using information-theory measurements. These mathematically derived ratings were in agreement with Ss’ ratings of association value and pronounceability used by previous investigators to identify the relative meaningfulness of CVC trigrams. It is hypothesized that the redundancy measures, by measuring the amount of structure in trigrams, are indicative of the potentiality for yielding signification meaning in short verbal units.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
GARNER, W. R. Uncertainty and structure as psychological concepts. New York: Wiley, 1962.
KRUEGER, W. C. F. The relative difficulty of nonsense syllables. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1934, 17, 145–153.
MAYZNER, M. S., TRESSELT, M. E., & WOLIN, B. R. Tables of frequency counts for various word-length and letter position combinations. Psychonomic Monograph Supplements, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1965.
NOBLE, C. E. Measurements of association value (a), rated associations (a’), and scaled meaningfulness (m’) for 2100 CVC combinations of the English alphabet. Psychological Reports, 1961, 8, 487–521.
UNDERWOOD, B. J., & SCHULZ, R. W. Meaningfulness and verbal learning. Chicago: Lippincott, 1960.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author expresses his appreciation to the George Washington University Computer Center for the use of its facilities.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Taylor, K.B. An information-theory measurement of CVC trigram meaningfulness. Psychon Sci 21, 101–103 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335786
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335786