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The “Psychological Reality” of American‐English Kinship Terms: An Information‐Processing Approach 1
Author(s) -
SANDAY PEGGY R.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1968.70.3.02a00050
Subject(s) - kinship , componential analysis , cognition , process (computing) , psychology , cognitive science , sample (material) , cognitive psychology , epistemology , linguistics , computer science , sociology , anthropology , philosophy , chemistry , chromatography , neuroscience , operating system
This research applies the information‐processing theory of human thinking to an analysis of the psychological reality of American‐English kinship terms. A general model in terms of cognitive structure and process is presented, its theoretical development closely tied to experimental testing. Two tasks involving the manipulation of terms of reference were administered to a sample chosen on the basis of subcultural affiliation; from the resulting data inferences are drawn about how kinship terms are structured in memory. Finally a classification of cognitive structure is presented and compared to the componential model of the componential analyst.