| （英） |
We cannot understand the meaning of a relative adjective (e.g., big) without making any form of comparison. Although it seems that we could think of the sentence of “an elephant is big” as being true independently of making any form of comparison, we could not rule out the possibility of making an unconscious comparison. If we compare an elephant with something bigger, such as an airplane, then we can no longer accept the sentence of “an elephant is big” as being true; hence suggesting that the meaning of “big” depends on comparison. We investigate whether the comprehension of a sentence using a relative adjective requires any form of comparison, and if so, how we make the comparison. We predicated that the greater the degree of the comparison is, the more easily we could comprehend the sentence. Twenty-four participants were presented with sentences using a relative adjective and asked to judge whether they think of the sentences as being true. Sentences included “an elephant is big,” etc., which were the extreme size of the concepts, and “a hippopotamus is big,” etc., which were the moderate size of the concepts. As a result, the mean reaction time was shorter for the extreme size of the concepts than for the moderate size of the concepts. This result suggests that we use some form of comparison to understand a sentence using a relative adjective. Additionally, the degree of the comparison affects the semantic processing. |