Affection and Evaluation as Logical Processes of Meaningfulness Independent of Associative Frequency

Summary

The concept of Reinforcement Value (RV) has been used by logical learning theory as the methodological equivalent of affection. Osgood's Evaluation (E) dimension shares methodological similarities with RV which Potency (P) and Activity (A) do not. Two experiments were conducted which tested the proposition that RV and E are related if not identical methodological constructs. The first experiment (N = 43 male and female undergraduates) employed a three-mode factor analysis of ratings made of various verbal items. Both RV and E ratings loaded on the same factor, in contrast to various frequency ratings of meaningfulness. The second study (N = 64 male and female high school students) tested the influence of ratings for RV, E, P, and A on retention of trigrams in a free-recall task. Both RV and E were found to influence recall, but P and A did not. The findings are discussed in light of the incompatibility between Osgoodian associationistic theory and the nonfrequency nature of E. Logical learning theory is held to have gained in range of application thanks to its experimental ties to the findings on E.