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PREFERENCES FOR COMMON WORDS, UNCOMMON WORDS AND NON‐WORDS BY CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Author(s) -
COLMAN A. M.,
WALLEY M.,
SLUCKIN W.
Publication year - 1975
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.2044-8295.1975.tb01483.x
Subject(s) - psychology , preference , age groups , developmental psychology , demography , sociology , economics , microeconomics
In the first experiment, groups of 6–7‐year‐old, 10–11‐year‐old and 18–20‐year‐old subjects were presented with aesthetic choices between common words and unfamiliar non‐words. All groups displayed a preference for real words but this tendency was significantly more pronounced in the intermediate age group than in either the younger or the older groups. In the second experiment, a group of 18–21‐year‐old subjects displayed a significant preference for uncommon words over common words, while groups of 7‐year‐old and 9–10‐year‐old subjects overwhelmingly preferred the common words. These results indicate an inverted‐U function relating familiarity and liking, and this provides a parsimonious interpretation of the preferences of subjects of all ages.