In prior experiments S-generated associative devices or natural language mediators (NLMs) linking pairs of items have been shown to facilitate acquisition of paired associates. Since Ss are questioned about NLMs after learning, such repos/rts may be a result of the questioning. To obtain an a priori estimate of NLM probability, several hundred pairs, each composed of CVCs of about equal association value (AV), were shown for 15 sec. while student Ss wrote down any NLM they could generate which linked both the stumulus and response. The AV level was varied between pairs. The proportion of Ss able to generate an NLM is the associability value (AS). As expected, AS and AV are correlated although AS varies considerably among pairs composed of items about equal in AV. Experiments run after the AS scale was obtained demonstrated that AS is valuable as a predictor of learning rate. AS values were highly correlated with the frequency of NLMs in postexperiment reports. It is concluded that the AS measure represents a valuable addition to our understanding of the complexity of verbal learning.
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