Toward a grammar of the image.

Abstract

It is argued that a sentence is represented at the conceptual level in terms of the structuring of three relational roles connected with the key words (typically nouns) in the sentence. The verb, although not directly represented in this conceptual structure, nevertheless plays an important function in determining its character. It contracts the various role functions realized by each of the key words and is responsible for a series of selective operations that make salient sets of conceptual features that bring the participants into syntagmatic relationship with each other. On the basis of their shared conceptual features, the participants are further characterized in terms of paradigmatic relations. These two kinds of relationships are shown to be related in different ways to the demands of various memory tasks.

Free associations to conceptually structured word triads

“…The fmding of greater apparent salience of sortal than of characterizing relations is consistent with Reid's (1974) discussion of the bases of such responses. The conceptual processing of characterizing ties must reflect shared features of "participants," but these individual participants must have been identified prior to the discovery of the shared characterizing feature.…”

“…These triads differ systematically in the relations that hold among the three stimulus words. In a detailed theoretical discussion of ways in which language stimuli are understood and structured, from the surface level to the deepest conceptual levels, Reid (1974) discussed two major types of relations based on what Strawson (1959) called "sortal and characterizing ties." According to Reid, "sortal ties serve to group individual participants into categories definable on the basis of inherent features of their members.…”

The Effectiveness of Interrogatives for Promoting Verbal Elaboration Productivity in Young Children

“…the child (a) analyzed the semantic attributes (Barclay, Bransford, Franks, McCarrell, & Nitsch 1974) or conceptual features (Reid 1974) that intercept the turtle and house, such as the food-eating property of the turtle and the food-storing property of the house, (b) integrated these conceptual features, as in the turtle being able to eat food in the house, and (c) expressed it verbally. the child (a) analyzed the semantic attributes (Barclay, Bransford, Franks, McCarrell, & Nitsch 1974) or conceptual features (Reid 1974) that intercept the turtle and house, such as the food-eating property of the turtle and the food-storing property of the house, (b) integrated these conceptual features, as in the turtle being able to eat food in the house, and (c) expressed it verbally.…”

“…Error classification and analysis.-Errors made by.subjects during recall were recorded and classified in line with Reid's (1974) definition of a paradigmatic set in which items are conceived of in terms of shared conceptual features. Errors were classified as either (a) semantic errorserrors from within the seven experimental categories (e.g., "box" instead of "basket" from the container category), or any errors reflecting meaningful relations or high associations ("candle" in response to "light"), (b) nonsemantic errorserrors not reflecting any interpretable meaningful relation (e.g., "book" instead of "socks" in response to "tent"), and (c) omissions--errors where the subject failed to give any response.…”