Overextension in Verb Conjunctions

Hampton (1988) discovered that people are subject to overextension they categorize some things as falling under a conjunction (e.g., they categorize chess as a sport which is also a game) but not as falling under both of the corresponding conjuncts they do not categorize chess as a sport). Although subsequent literature has replicated this effect with a wider range of constructions than those originally used by Hampton, the reseaiTch so far has been exclusively concerned with various ifoiTins of noun compounds. This article generalizes the previous findings to the domain of verb conjunctions. By using a novel paradigm for studying overextensi on effects, this study demonstrates a very strong overextension effect for conjunctions of gerunds (e.g., walking and smoking). The author discusses the implications of the new findings for available explanations of overextension.