Liking words as a function of the experienced frequency of their occurrence

Abstract

A hypothetical inverted‐U curve is postulated linking liking of stimuli to familiarity with them. An experiment using a special procedure was carried out in which the relationship was investigated for words, ranging from very unfamiliar to very familiar, between favourability and familiarity. The results conformed to the theoretical curve. This indicated that the positive correlation between the variables reported by several researchers (e.g. Zajonc) and the negative correlation found by others (e.g. Cantor) should be regarded as complementary rather than contradictory.