Perception des mots et certitude de la réponse

Résumé En Fr

Many experiments have shown that a word's perceptual threshold varies inversely with the frequency of its use in a language. On checking, the phenomenon is again noted, and it is shown that a « familiarity variable », a psychological counterpart of frequency of use, can be usefully substituled for it. The experimental situation is rigorously identical to the control situation except insofar as the subject is instructed to estimate the level of certainty of his response. The hypothesis, derived analogously from other works, is that perceptual threshholds in the experimental situation will be lower than in a controlled situation and that the gap will be all the greater as familiarity lessens. The results confirm this double hypothesis. The proposed interpretation is that expression of certainty socially influences the process of perceptual decision.

qu'en situation contrôle et que l'écart sera d'autant plus grand que la familiarité sera plus faible. Les résultats confirment cette double hypothèse. L'interprétation proposée est que l'expression de la certitude influence socialement le processus de décision perceptive.