Relations versus Properties in Conceptual Combination

Abstract

We evaluate the hypothesis that people interpret noun-noun combinations by first attempting to find a plausible relation in which the constituents play different functional roles (as in “a hawk thatpreyson robins” forrobin hawk). If they do not succeed, they then attempt as a last resort to derive an interpretation based on properties of the modifier (“hawk with ared breast”). In one study, combinations with plausible relations were more often interpreted with properties when their constituents were highly similar. In a second study, property and relation interpretations of the same combination were selectively primed. In a final study, we show that property interpretations characterize the meanings of a number of familiar combinations in the English language. Taken together, the results of these studies run counter to the view that concepts are combined by first attempting to link them by a relation. We describe other reasons to doubt this view and discuss the implications of our findings for models of conceptual combination.