Defineability as an index of word meaning

Abstract

A sample of 277 nouns was scaled for rated defineability and rated pronunciability. Intercorrelations were computed among the following variables: defineability (D), pronunciability (P), imagery (I), concreteness (C), associative meaningfulness (m), familiarity (F), and Thorndike-Lorge frequencies (TLF). RatedD was substantially related to all the other variables, notably to ratedI. Correlations were highest amongD, I, C, andm, on the one hand, and amongF, TLF, andP, on the other. The pattern of correlations was interpreted in terms of Paivio's (1970) distinction between higher-order and lower-order meaning. Two experiments were conducted to test the relationship between the word attributes and recall of word labels with dictionary definitions provided as retrieval cues. The positive effect ofD on label retrieval was independent of theI values of the defined words but the effectiveness ofI on retrieval was dependent on word defineability.