Award Winner
Second Place
Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
This report examines of how people interpret unusual noun phrases. Sixty-three Introduction to Psychology students either (a) rated novel noun phrases ("fish pipe") for sensibility on a I - 10 scale, or (b) gave an interpretation of it. Both groups reported their conscious experiences during the task, using free report and a brief questionnaire. It was found that participants interpreted the phrase by developing a scenario. Furthermore, a strong negative correlation was found between the number of distinct interpretations and the sensibility rating for a phrase: Phrases with fewer interpretations were given higher ratings of sensibility. Ratings of sensibility therefore seem to result from evaluating the number and "fit" of the possible scenarios for a phrase.
Publication Date
1996
Journal Title
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference
Volume
1
Issue
1
First Page
71
Last Page
76
Copyright
©1996 by the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Publisher
University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Recommended Citation
Graham, Jackie K. and Yates, Jack
(1996)
"Interpreting Novel Phrases,"
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/csbsproceedings/vol1/iss1/10
