Meaning mediation in verbal transfer.

Abstract

The role of synonymity and antonymity as mediators in verbal transfer in the absence of any confounding effects of associative connexions was studied. Using an A—B, A—B', A—B paradigm, subjects learned under three different conditions in each of which B and B had least pre‐laboratory associative connexions. In a control condition, B and B′ were semantically unrelated and, in the other two experimental conditions, B and B′ had either synonym or antonym relation. Results suggest that implicit meaning reaction alone can mediate verbal learning. Positive and negative transfer effects were obtained in the synonym and antonym condition respectively. Such mediational effects were more pronounced in fast than slow learners.