Psycholinguistics: Prime–Target Relationships 1.1

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This exercise is based on a study by Marlsen-Wilson et al. 1994 (PDF) in which priming effects between roots and morphologically complex words (derived and pseudo-derived) are demonstrated. Prime–target pairs are marked with binary features [+/− Morph], [+/− Sem], and [+/− Phon].

You will be given word pairs that will show one set of features, and you will select to the best of your knowledge.

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Your answers are highlighted below.

Question 1

possible/possibility

A	[+Sem, +Phon]
B	[+Morph, -Phon] Hint: It is [+Morph] because both words share a stem with the same meaning (/pɑsəbVl/, with V representing a variable vowel) and [-Phon] because the final vowel the stem differs in the surface form of each word: [ə] in possible and [ɪ] in possibility
C	[−Morph, −Phon]

Question 2

grateful/grater

A	[+Morph, +Phon]
B	[+Morph, +Sem]
C	[+Morph, −Sem] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [+Morph, −Sem]. It is [+Morph] since derivational suffixes have been attached to both roots; however, when these are removed, the free roots do not share the same meaning. The root of grateful has its origin in the Latin word gratus ('gratitude, thankful'), whereas the root of grater is the verb grate, as in to slice into small pieces.

Question 3

decide/decision

A	[+Sem, +Phon]
B	[+Morph, +Phon]
C	[+Morph, −Phon] Hint: It is [+Morph] since the semantic features of both words are the same and [−Phon] since the /d/ of the base form decide is not present in the derived decision, which lacks the /d/ featured in the base verb decide.

Question 4

perfectly/perfection

A	[+Morph, +Sem] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [+Morph, +Sem] since a) both words have undergone a derivational process and b) the root of each have the same meaning.
B	[−Sem, +Phon]
C	[−Morph, +Phon]

Question 5

tickle/tick

A	[−Morph, +Phon] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [-Morph, +Phon] since, although the initial syllable of each word is phonetically identical, tickle is not derived/pseudo-derived because -le is not a morpheme in Standard English.
B	[−Sem, −Phon]
C	[+Morph, +Sem]

Question 6

cozy/cozily

A	[−Morph, +Phon]
B	[+Morph, -Phon] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [+Morph, −Phon] since the semantic features of both the bound and free root cozy are the same; however, the phonetic form of the bound and free roots are different.
C	[−Sem, +Morph]

Question 7

network/net

A	[−Sem, −Phon]
B	[+Morph, +Phon]
C	[−Morph, +Phon] Hint: It is [−Morph] because network is a noun–noun compound rather than a noun–affix combination and [+Phon] because the net of both words share a phonetic form on the surface.

Question 8

opaque/opacity

A	[−Morph, −Phon]
B	[+Morph, +Phon]
C	[+Morph, −Phon] Hint: It is [+Morph] since the semantic features of both words are the same and [−Phon] since the /k/ of the base form opaque is not present in the derived opacity and because the vowels in the root differ in each of the surface forms: [eɪ] in opaque and [æ] in opacity.

Question 9

real/realty

A	[−Sem, +Morph] Hint: It is [−Sem, +Morph] because realty is pseudo-derived from real; although they share the same root, the meaning of realty is not automatically granted through the composition of real and the affix -ty.
B	[+Sem, +Morph]
C	[+Sem, +Phon]

Question 10

abandonment/abandon

A	[−Sem, +Morph]
B	[+Sem, +Morph] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [+Sem, +Morph] since a) the semantic features of both the bound and free root abandon are the same and b) abandonment is a morphologically derived word.
C	[+Morph, −Phon]

Question 11

conclude/conclusion

A	[+Morph, −Phon] Hint: It is [+Morph] since the semantic features of both words are the same and [−Phon] since the /d/ of the base form conclude is not present in the derived conclusion.
B	[−Sem, +Phon]
C	[+Morph, +Phon]

Question 12

tack/tackle

A	[−Morph, +Phon] Hint: The relationship between this pair is [-Morph, +Phon] since, although the initial syllable of each word is phonetically identical, tackle is not derived/pseudo-derived because -le is not a morpheme in Standard English.
B	[-Sem, +Morph]
C	[+Sem, +Phon]

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There are 12 questions to complete.

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Psycholinguistics: Prime–Target Relationships 1.1

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