ASSOCIATIVE EXPERIMENT AS AN EMPIRICAL METHOD OF LINGUOCOGNITIVE CONCEPTS RESEARCH

Abstract

The article substantiates the expediency of using an associative experiment during the study of linguistic-cognitive concepts. It is proven that when researching concepts, one should take into account language stereotypes, features of the national mentality, which is revealed with the help of such a psycholinguistic method as an associative experiment. It is analyzed how the word-stimulus-reaction chain can determine the organization of the concept in the mind of the individual, summarize the respondents’ data and build an image of the general speaker, draw a conclusion about the place of the concept in the national mentality, compare the obtained data with the theoretical-linguistic research of the concept. Such tangential notions as word-stimulus, associations, linguistic consciousness, linguistic picture of the world, associative field, validity of the experiment are considered. The procedure of the research is systematized, which takes place with the help of statistically processed results of a mass experiment on free verbal associations, when the content and forms of the reaction to the word-stimulus are interpreted. The purpose of the associative experiment is outlined as to investigate the mental lexicon of native speakers. The types of associations were analyzed and it has been concluded that the association provides an opportunity to develop issues related to the means of knowledge storage, the processes of generation and understanding of speech, the organization of the internal lexicon and the individual’s genetic memory. Attention is focused on the shortcomings of the associative experiment, such as the formation of a list of stimulus words, their number and the number of respondents, taking into account their sociometric data, so that the associative experiment is unbiased and valid; display of associations relevant only at the time of the experiment, and as a result, representation of only a certain stage of language development of speakers of a certain territorial language variety. The importance of the associative experiment for the study of the inner mental world of a person is confirmed; to construct a network of associations in the mind of the individual and national consciousness.