Word Association and Formal Training of the Written Language: B. Changes in Syntactic and Semantic Relationships of Associates

Abstract

This study combined a cross-sectional and a longitudinal approach with children from kindergarten through Grade 5 responding in free word association on four occasions to stimulus words introduced at each of the first six grade levels. These responses were analyzed for meaningfulness, syntagmatic-paradigmatic relationship, and for idiodynamic response set. As previously reported with grade level the meaningfulness of responses increased, and the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift was observed. This “shift” was complex and the idiodynamic set scores showed that it is largely a function of the didactic techniques and of the grade of introduction of written words in our elementary schools. The longitudinal data indicated marked individual differences in the time and course of the changes. Some children were strongly influenced by these didactic procedures while others were not influenced at all or were only transiently influenced. Most children entered school with a pre-established set but a few developed no set within the time frame of the study. It was emphasized that the correlation between word associations and didactic techniques and sequencing may reflect teachers' experience of maturational readiness in children of different ages.