Judgments of associative memory (JAM) were indexed by ratings given to pairs of cue and response words. The normed probabilities, p(response|cue), were obtained from free association norms. The ratings were linearly related to the probabilities. The JAM functions were characterized by high intercepts (approximately 50 on a 100 point scale) and…

Two methods are used to test the hypothesis that natural categories have reference point stimuli in relation to which other stimuli of that same category are judged. (Author/DEP)

Comprehension of a sentence entails constructing a particularized and elaborated mental representation, and this process depends more heavily on knowledge of the world and analysis of context than is generally appreciated. Existing associative or semantic network theories would be strained to accomodate this data. (Author/BJG)

Address given at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, September 1, 1969, in Washington D.C. Research was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Dental Research, and the Office of Naval Research. (DS)