Repetition Effect in Judgments of Grammaticality of Sentences: Examination with Ungrammatical Sentences

Abstract

Nagata (1988) found that repeated presentation of sentences made the criterion more stringent in judgments of grammaticality of both grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. Whether this finding was externally valid was examined here by using sentences of differing levels of ungrammaticality. In Exp. 1, 11 students judged the grammaticality of ungrammatical sentences twice, receiving a repetition treatment between the two judgments. The test items involving two levels of ungrammaticality were drawn from among the work of Kuno from 1973 to 1983. Judgments alter repetition became more stringent for both levels of ungrammaticality. 11 different students in Exp. 2 judged ungrammatical sentences embodying three types of Chomsky's 1965 rule violations. Results showed no shift in judgments after repetition for either of the three types of ungrammatical sentences. These findings indicate that Nagata's finding is of limited external validity. Discussion emphasized that susceptibility of sentential materials to the repetition treatment depends on the degree to which ungrammaticality is detectable and explainable.