Adjective order and the recall of adjective-noun triples

Abstract

When a noun is modified by two adjectives there is typically a preferred ordering of those adjectives. The S s were given one study trial with a list of 30 nouns, each modified by two adjectives which normative data showed to be strongly ordered. The order in which the adjective pairs were actually presented for study was counterbalanced. The test trial consisted of presenting one of the words from each triple and asking S to recall the remaining two words. When cued with the adjective preferred close to the noun, recall was superior to when cued with the adjective preferred furthest from the noun. When cued with the noun, recall is superior to either condition of adjective cueing. These results confirm a prediction based on the theory that adjective ordering is a function of the concreteness and specificity of adjective meaning.