When 40 Ss were required to select those primary digits most frequently associated with certain adjectives, there was substantial consensus in ascribing adjectives to particular digits. A factor analysis was performed based upon correlations between attributes assigned to the nine basic digits. This yielded a factor separating small from large numbers, and a second factor separating even from odd numbers. Both these factorial groupings were assigned distinctive adjectives to a significant degree.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AschS. E.On the use of metaphor in the description of persons. In WernerH. (Ed.), On expressive language; papers presented at the Clark University Conference on Expressive Language Behavior. Worcester, Mass.: Clark Univer. Press, 1955. Pp. 29–38.
2.
FodorN.The psychology of numbers. J. clin. Psychopath., 1947, 8, 525–556, 628–654, 841–847.
3.
HsuE. H.An experimental study on “mental numbers” and a new application. J. gen. Psychol., 1948, 38, 57–67.
4.
JeffreysH.The unconscious significance of numbers. Int. J. Psychoanal., 1936, 17, 217–223.
5.
KaronB. P.Some clinical notes on the significance of the number “4.”Psychiat. Quart., 1958, 32, 281–288.
