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Semantic Satiation

Explanations > Theories > Semantic Satiation

Description | Research | Example | So What? | See also | References 

Description

Semantic satiation is the odd effect where a word seems to lose its meaning when you keep looking at it.  In 1910, G.K. Chesterton, in 'The Telegraph Poles' in Alarms and Discursions, said:

"Have you ever tried the experiment of saying some plain word, such as 'dog,' thirty times? By the thirtieth time it has become a word like 'snark' or 'pobble.' It does not become tame, it becomes wild, by repetition."

A reason for this curious effect is reactive inhibition, where way brain cells become fatigued as repeated firing depletes available energy. With time and rest, the 'normal' understanding of the word will return. Another way of thinking about it is in terms of adaptation, where we become accustomed to something and so pay less attention to it.

Different words are differently affected by this. Words with strong meaning, especially with emotional associations, are less likely to fall prey to semantic satiation.

The concept was first described by E. Severance and M.F. Washburn in The American Journal of Psychology in 1907. More recently, Leon James introduced the term 'semantic satiation' in his 1962 PhD thesis. There are many other words and phrases that have been used to describe the same thing, including verbal satiation, verbal transformation, reactive inhibition, cortical inhibition, lapse of meaning, and work decrement.

Research

James (1962) got subjects to repeat a word or number several times, then gave them a cognitive task using that word or number. The subjects took longer on the tasks after this repetition than if they did not have to repeat the word or number beforehand. He also studied the effect with people who stutter, where repetition and consequent satiation act to decreases anxiety and so stuttering, and also in music, where instant hits were also quick to disappear, while those that became popular slowly tended to stay popular for longer.

Example

Try it yourself with any everyday words. Say 'buffalo' or 'continuity' repeatedly until they start to seem odd and lose their original meaning.

So What?

Using it

Semantic satiation can be used to desensitize customers to any potential negative thoughts associated with a word by having it repeated multiple times before it is used in the persuasive situation.

Defending

If you feel words are beginning to lose meaning, take a break. Then test you have regained full meaning and understanding before returning to the situation.

See also

Cognitive Evaluation Theory, Fatigue, Priming

References

Lambert, W. E. and James, L.J. (1960). Verbal satiation and changes in the intensity of meaning. Journal of Experimental Psychology 60.688-99

James, L.J. (1962). Effects of Repeated Stimulation on Cognitive Aspects of Behavior: Some Experiments on the Phenomenon of Semantic Satiation, PhD Thesis, McGill University