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THE TITLES OF PAPERBACK BOOKS
Author(s) -
BROWN W. P.
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1964.tb00920.x
Subject(s) - appeal , psychology , meaning (existential) , semantic differential , set (abstract data type) , library science , information retrieval , social psychology , computer science , law , political science , psychotherapist , programming language
Ratings on Semantic Differential scales were used to assess the ‘connotative meaning’ of a set of book titles. Each book selected had been reissued in a paperback edition bearing a title different from the original title. Ratings of both titles were collected and compared. In most cases, the paperback titles were rated lower than the original titles on Evaluation and/or higher on Potency. The change of title is seen as an attempt to increase the ‘package appeal’ of the book, perhaps by enhancing its capacity to hold the attention of the prospective purchaser.