Models of causation and the semantics of causal verbs q Phillip Wolff a, * and Grace Song b a Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN 38152, USA b Department of English, University of Memphis, 125 Patterson Hall, Memphis, TN 38152, USA Accepted 15 January 2003 Abstract This research examines the relationship between the concept of CAUSE as it is character- ized in psychological models of causation and the meaning of causal verbs, such as the verb cause itself. According to focal set models of causation (Cheng, 1997; Cheng & Novick, 1991, 1992), the concept of CAUSE should be more similar to the concepts of ENABLE and PREVENT than either is to each other. According to a model based on TalmyÕs (1988) theory of force dynamics, the force dynamic model, the concepts of CAUSE, ENABLE, and PREVENT should be roughly equally similar to one another. The relationship between these predictions and the meaning of causal verbs was examined by having participants sort causal verbs and rate them with respect to the dimensions specified by the two models. The results from five experiments indicated that the force dynamic model provides a better account of the meaning of causal verbs than do focal set models of causation. Implications for causal inference and induction are discussed. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. Keywords: Causation; Causal models; Lexical semantics; Verbs Cognitive Psychology 47 (2003) 276–332 www.elsevier.com/locate/cogpsych Cognitive Psychology q This work was supported in part by a grant from The University of Memphis Faculty Research Grant Fund. This support does not necessarily imply endorsement by the University of research conclusions. We give special thanks to Bianca Klettke and Tanya Vassilieva for their help in the research and analyses. We also want to thank Adele Goldberg, Doug Medin and an anonymous reviewer for their very insightful comments and suggestions. * Corresponding author. Fax: 1-901-678-2579. E-mail address: pwolff@memphis.edu (P. Wolff). 0010-0285/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0010-0285(03)00036-7