WORD ASSOCIATION: VARIABLES AFFECTING POPULAR‐RESPONSE FREQUENCY1
Ronald D. Wynne, Herbert Gerjuoy, Harold Schiffman, Norman Wexler · ETS Research Bulletin Series · 1965
ABSTRACT Normal subjects were given 54 Kent‐Rosanoff word‐association‐test items in one of two different orders; antonym‐eliciting items were concentrated either (a) near the beginning or (b) near the end of the list. For each order, testing was administered under three different test conditions: (a) standard free‐association instructions, (b) instructions to give the response “most people” would give, and (c) “most people” instructions with a multiple‐choice test format. The order starting with antonym‐eliciting items elicited more popular antonym responses than did the other order. Popularity‐set instructions, particularly with the multiple‐choice format, elicited more non‐antonym popular responses than did free‐association test conditions. With repeated testing, popular antonyms became more frequent. For some sequences of test conditions, there was also an increase in non‐antonym popular responses with repeated testing.