The major portion of the investigations described in the present volume would never have been undertaken without the generous support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Society). During my professorship at the University of Marburg, I could not have carried on with my work in the psychology of language had it not been for the aid offered by this institution. Since these experimental investigations constitute the empirical backbone of the entire argument, I feel especially indebted to the Society. My warm thanks are also extended to the over two thousand subjects whose willing cooperation enabled my associates and myself to collect the body of data reported in these pages. I would like to thank the many parents, teachers, and school principals whose good will and collaboration were the prerequisites for conducting many of our experiments. The book also incorporates valuable contributions by my associates, insofar as my ideas and arguments bear the imprint of our joint work and discussion, to an extent that makes an accurate acknowledgement of each inspiration next to impossi­ ble. Giving them due credit, I would like to thank my assistants, the graduating students, and the student-aides back in Marburg and more recently in Mannheim.

Translated by: B.A. Jankowski