The Evolution

The Evolution

43

(Sapir & Swadesh, 1960); but psycho-evolutionary analysis predicts
that such languages should be exceptions to the rule. Actually, in
languages such as Yana, compounds almost certainly are processed through
Type IV interactions (i.e. they are treated as single entities).
Type II and Type III Intersection

The psycho-evolutionary calculations offered earlier suggest that
Type II intersections should be easy for an optimized memory, but not
necessarily Type III intersections.

That Type II intersections actually are easy is shown by Freedman
and Loftus (1971), Loftus (1973), and Loftus and Loftus (1974), each
of which found that subjects can intersect a noun category with a
letter in about 2 sec. Freedman and Loftus also found that Type II
intersections involving noun categories and adjectives (e.g. food white,
intersecting, say, "cauliflower") also posed subjects no particular
problems (intersections were carried out even faster than their noun
category-letter counterparts). Thus the results of experimental
research are in line with what psycho-evolutionary reasoning predicts
for Type II intersections.

Unfortunately similar data are not available for Type III intersections,
but it is readily apparent to those who try that solving a Type III inter-
section task usually requires a process of trial-and-error that is not
necessary when solving a Type II intersection task. This is because in a
Type II intersection task the first concept suggested to memory is usually

<<   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   >>

More intriguing information