FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS: STIMULUS EQUIVALENCE MEDIATED BY SEMANTIC-ACOUSTIC SIMILARITY.
Abstract
SS WERE REQUIRED TO REFER TO A METAL TOOL WITH E-ASSIGNED NAMES WHILE WORKING ON A PROBLEM IN WHICH THAT TOOL HAD TO BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR WIRE. PROBLEM SOLVING WAS FACILITATED WHEN THE ASSIGNED TOOL NAME RHYMED WITH THE WORD "WIRES." WHEN BOTH THE TOOL AND WIRE WERE ASSIGNED NONSENSE-SYLLABLE NAMES, NO EFFECT OF RHYMING WAS OBTAINED, INDICATING THAT GENERALIZATION ALONG AN ACOUSTIC SEMANTIC RATHER THAN A PHONETIC DIMENSION MEDIATED FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCE.