Semantic satiation

Semantic Satiation

Semantic satiation (pronunciation: /sɪˈmæntɪk seɪʃiˈeɪʃən/) is a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who can only process the speech as repeated meaningless sounds.

Etymology

The term "semantic satiation" was coined by Leon Jakobovits James in 1962. The word 'semantic' originates from the Greek word 'semantikos', meaning 'significant', and 'satiation' from the Latin 'satiare', meaning 'to satisfy'.

Explanation

Semantic satiation occurs when a word or phrase is repeated so often it loses its meaning. This is thought to occur because as the word is repeated, the listener's brain becomes satiated or 'full' from processing the same information repeatedly, leading to a kind of mental 'fatigue' where the word is no longer processed as a word with meaning but rather as a repeated sound.

Related Terms

• Semantic priming
• Speech repetition
• Stroop effect
• Gestaltzerfall

See Also

• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive psychology
• Neurolinguistics

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Semantic satiation
• Wikipedia's article - Semantic satiation

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