Word concreteness and word structure as independent determinants of recall

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Abstract

Theorists attribute concreteness effects to differences in imagability, context availability, or to differences in associative structure. Imagability explanations assume that subjects are more likely to generate images for concrete than for abstract words and context availability explanations assume that contextual information is more accessible for concrete words. Structural explanations assume that concrete words have smaller associative sets than abstract words making them easier to recall, or they assume the opposite view, that concrete words have larger and more densely connected sets making them easier to recall. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate contradictory structural explanations. The results of a correlational study involving over 2000 words and three recall experiments involving manipulations of concreteness and structure indicate that these attributes are uncor-related and have independent effects. Neither structural view adequately explains the findings.

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    This research was supported by Grant MH 16360 to Douglas L. Nelson from the National Institute of Mental Health.

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