Patterns of Word Association in the Deaf

Abstract

Comparisons were made of the word associations of normal Ss and two groups of deaf Ss. A special set of coding categories was used in a content analysis of the responses. The results suggest that in comparison to normal Ss, the deaf give relatively more associations that could have been learned from visual experience and from reading simple material, and they give fewer associations that supposedly are learned from subtle uses of language. Also, it was found that deaf Ss frequently are unable to give associates, suggesting that, as a group, words are less meaningful to deaf than normals.