ABSTRACT
Experimental psychologists often use nonsense syllables to study aspects of learning. Such syllables are intended to be devoid of meaning so that the subject of the experiment will be learning material with which he has had no previous acquaintance. Examples of these syllables could be lib, jal, paj, and so on. The subject of the experiment may have to respond to the experimenter's demands by saying or writing the syllables he has previously learned. When comparisons are made between learning rates using nonsense words and meaningful material, subjects have most difficulty with nonsense words. Similar results are obtained if the experiments are concerned with the retention of learning.
