Word association test

Requiring half the men to give their fastest response to the target word to achieve the desirable condition and the other half to give their slowest response is a standard experimental procedure called counterbalancing. It is used to eliminate possible confounding of results because of steady trends in irrelevant aspects of data, such as a tendency of percipients to respond more quickly as a word-association test moves along. 

Most studies that have compared patients functioning on and off lithium find negative effects of lithium on memory and information processing, reduced mental speed as well as indications of impaired creativity as measured by word association tests (Honig et al. 1999 Kocsis et al. 1993). However patients are often not aware of their mental slowness (Honig et al. 1999). 

Episodic memory and metamemory Word association test progressive matrices Goreham s proverb test... 

Multicenter AIDS Cohort Conb oUed Oral Word Association Test... 

Maskill, R., Cachapuz, A.F.C. Learning about the chemistry topic of equilibrium The use of word association tests to detect developing conceptualizations. International Journal of Science Education 11 (1989), 57... 

Cachapuz, A.E.C., Maskill, R. (1987). Detecting changes with learning in the organization of knowledge Use of word association tests to follow the learning of collision theory. International Journal of Science Education, 9, 491-504. 

ACh is metabolised extraneuronally by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, to reform precursor choline and acetate. Blocking its activity with various anticholinesterases has been widely investigated and some improvement in memory noted. Such studies have invariably used reversible inhibition because of the toxicity associated with long-term irreversible inhibition of the enzyme. Physostigmine was the pilot drug. It is known to improve memory in animals and some small effects have been seen in humans (reduces number of mistakes in word-recall tests rather than number of words recalled), but it really needs to be given intravenously and has a very short half-life (30 min). 

A study conducted in Britain reported that ketamine s impact on short- and long-term memory can linger for up to three days after a dose. Researchers looked at a broad array of memory functions, word association and language tests, attention span, and other factors related to mood. Though some recovery was noted 72 hours after ketamine usage, the researchers noted lasting impairments related to language and some aspects of memory. 

This family of tests has been adapted for, and then frequently used in, marketing research. We can cite for instance the word association task in which the subjects are asked to read a list of words and to indicate the first word that comes to mind. For a short and easily available review of projective tests in consumer research, refer to Donoghue (2000). 

---