The associative (association) experiment
The associative experiment is one of the primary methods based on the assumption that uncontrolled associations are projections of the inner content of the mind. This property allows using association experiments for discovering and describing affect complexes.
4 types of association experiments can be distinguished:
pair associations;
serial associations;
verbal differentiation;
free associations
Each experiment could have single or multiple and free or controlled associations.
In dependence on their combinations such kinds of associations can be differentiated:
single-response free association (to write immediately the first word that comes to one's mind);
single-response controlled association (similar to the previous one, but there's a need to write a specific type of association, for example, synonym or antonym);
multiple-response free association (use of unlimited number of words);
multiple-response controlled association (similar to previous one, but with some restrictions on the type of response) [It-claim.ru].
The procedure of the association experiment is the following – subjects should respond to a particular set of stimulus words as quickly as possible without of thinking. Thus, the type of associations, the frequency of same type associations, the magnitude of periods between the stimulus word and the subject's reaction, behavioral and physiological reactions, etc., are recorded [Kayabaparts].
This kind of experiment is an effective way of studying the lexicon and analyzing intercultural differences in the perception and verbalization of concepts in linguistic world images.
Association psycholinguistic experiments are a way of penetrating into the process of human thinking [Cherhyshenko, p. 77].
⠀ Iryna Cherhyshenko. (2017). Association psycholinguistic experiment as an efficient tool of thesaurus studying. Academic Сommentaries. 154. Kropyvnytskyi: Publisher Lysenko V.F.
⠀ Ассоциативный эксперимент как метод исследования значений. Kayabaparts. Retrieved from: [https://kayabaparts.ru/en/associativnyi-eksperiment-kak-metod-issledovaniya-znachenii-razdel-vii/https://kayabaparts.ru/en/associativnyi-eksperiment-kak-metod-issledo
⠀ On Association Experiments. It-claim.ru Retrieved from: [http://it-claim.ru/Persons/Vilomova_Kate/on_associative_experiments.pdf].