verbal associations

In the article the author investigates the influence of the subjects’ age on the nature of the associative reactions. The material for the research is obtained from the associative dictionaries and the data of the associative experiments.

The article shows how a multifaceted approach, which involves the use of different methodological techniques in studying complex phenomena, can facilitate the study of lexemes with the general meaning of human action, in particular, the meta-names of actions. It is applied to the study of an example of a meta-name “gesture”.

In the article, playing techniques of the schoolchildren’s reactions, the causes and the modes of the design of non-usage words are investigated on the material of the Associative Dictionary of the Schoolchildren of Saratov and the Saratov Region. Such reactions are considered as the manifestation of linguistic creativity of the schoolchildren.