r. Johanna Rubba
English Department (Linguistics)
Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
Last updated  10/17/00
© 2000 Johanna Rubba


Exercise: Categorization and Association in the Lexicon

The table below reproduces ten game cards from Outburst ( © 1988 Hersch & Co., L.A., CA). For each card, state whether the words on the card are connected by categorization (they are all members of the same category; all 'kinds of X') or association (they do not name the same kind of thing, but occur together in some scenario in common experience).

A. Found in a restaurant: ASSOCIATION

1. waiter
2. chef
3. hostess
4. busboys
5. menus
6. dishes
7. tables
8. chairs
9. customers
10. cashier

 B. Great board games: CATEGORIZATION

1. Chutes and Ladders
2.Scrabble
3. Clue
4. The Game of Life
5. Monopoly
6. Trivial Pursuit
7. Pictionary
8. Chess
9. Candy Land
10. Checkers		 C. Zoo animals: CATEGORIZATION

1. elephant
2. giraffe
3. monkey
4. bear
5. lion
6. tiger
7. hippopotamus
8. rhinoceros
9. leopard
10. hyena
D. Tourists carry ...: ASSOCIATION
1. a camera
2. a passport
3. a translation dictionary
4. traveler's checks
5. walking shoes
6. a map
7. credit cards
8. I.D.
9. shopping bag
10. guide to movie stars' homes		 E. Populous Cities (International): CATEGORIZATION

1. Tokyo
2. New York
3. Mexico City
4. Shanghai
5. London
6. Sao Paolo
7. Los Angeles
8. Buenos Aires
9. Paris
10. Peking		 F. San Francisco: ASSOCIATION

1. The Earthquake
2. Golden Gate Bridge
3. Cable cars
4. fog
5. "I Left My Heart ... "
6. The Giants
7. Nob Hill
8. Candlestick Park
9. Alcatraz
10. The 49ers
G. Hobbies: CATEGORIZATION

1. stamp collecting
2. model cars
3. rare coins
4. miniature sailboats
5. ham radio
6. collecting rocks
7. collecting seashells
8. ant farm
9. bird watching
10. saving string		 H. Things found at a salad bar: ASSOCIATION

1. the ice
2. the sneeze guard
3. lettuce
4. dressings
5. croutons
6. bacon bits
7. olives
8. pepper
9. tongs
10. tomatoes		 I. Halloween: ASSOCIATION

1. jack o'lantern
2. black cats
3. witches
4. October 31st
5. costumes
6. "Trick or treat"
7. goblins
8. haunted house
9. candy
10. ghosts
J. Popular video arcade games: CATEGORIZATION

1. Pong
2. Asteroids
3. Pac Man
4. Donkey Kong
5. Centipede
6. Turbo
7. Frogger
8. Astro-Smash
9. Q-Bert
10. Ms. Pac Man		 RETURN TO EXERCISE