The author initially cites the associationistic position of Spiker and the perceptual learning position of E. Gibson and concludes that the existing data does not clearly support either hypothesis. He describes a new approach designed to test these explanations of the role of verbal pretraining on subsequent discrimination learning. It consists of verbal repetition (satiation) of the names previously learned to the objects. Fifty-one white middle-class preschoolers were subjects. The procedure was extensively outlined and included three phases: (1) Discrimination Training; (2) Satiation; and (3) Criterion Task. The data collected was clearly in accord with the predictions from perceptual learning theory and contrary to those of associationism. The author concludes, however, although Gibson's position was supported, it lacks a specificity of mechanism which seems, at present, to preclude a very direct test of it. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (TL)