Miller and Isard presented listeners with grammatical sentences ("Gadgets simplify work around the house"); ungrammatical word strings ("Between gadgets highways passengers the steal"), and anomalous sentences ("Gadgets kill passengers from the eyes"). The results showed that the listener's ability to accurately report the phrase was _____.
A) highest for the grammatical condition, followed by ungrammatical, and then anomalous
B) highest for the grammatical condition, followed by anomalous, and then ungrammatical
C) the same for grammatical and anomalous, which were both better than ungrammatical
D) the same for all three conditions

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Listeners are generally better at accurately reporting phrases that follow a logical and grammatical structure. In this case, grammatical sentences are easiest to report because they make sense and follow a predictable structure. Anomalous sentences, while strange, still follow grammatical rules, making them easier to report than ungrammatical word strings, which lack any coherent structure.

Miller and Isard Presented Listeners with Grammatical Sentences ("Gadgets Simplify