Relation-based combinations versus property-based combinations:: A test of the CARIN theory and the dual-process theory of conceptual combination

This research examined how noun-noun combinations (e.g., whale boat) are interpreted. In particular, it assessed the relative difficulty of deriving property interpretations (e.g., a big boat) and relation interpretations (e.g., a boat for seeing whales). Four experiments and one corpus study offer converging evidence to suggest that property interpretations are more difficult than are relation interpretations. Property interpretations are nor readily encountered in written text,are not frequently produced, are not easily interpreted, and are not easily judged as being accepted. The dual-process theory (Wisniewski, 1996) and the Competition Among Relations in Nominals theory (Gagne, 1999; Gagne & Shoben, 1997) are evaluated in light of these findings. (C) 2000 Academic Press.