Psychological Reports, 1975,36, 575-578. @ Psychological Reports 1975
CONCEPT 1DIFFERENTIATION BY SEMANTIC AND VISUAL MEDIATION JOHN E. HOFMAN AND RINA MIKHAELOVIU University of Haifa, Israel Summary.-The assumption of disrance in interconcept space as an inverse function of similarity among concept profiles was supported by a technique of direct visual differentiation. 28 students of education each generated two matrices of interconcept distances, one by the well-known semantic differential technique and one by the manipulation of tokens on a checkered board. Configurations in the semantic and visual modes were isomorphous, that is, significantly and substantially correlated. This further suggests that visual differentiation implied by token manipulation may sometimes be substituted for semantic differentiation. There also appeared a generalized tendency toward extent of differentiation in the semantic and visual modes.
The notion of distance in semantic space appears to be based on the assumption that psychological distance between the concepts differentiated is some inverse function of their similarity in rated meaning (Osgood, Suci, & Tamenbaum, 1957). The more similar two concept profiles are in rated meaning the less distant they are held to be in the mind of the rater. Thus, identification and ethnic identity have been operationalized in terms of the similarity between ratings of the self-concept ( M E ) and such concepts as FATHER and GERMAN, respectively (Endler, 1961; Hofman, 1970; Osgood & Luria, 1964; Williams, 1966). While the similarity/distance assumption has stood up rather well in research using the semantic differential, it ought to be supported by the application of other techniques.
METHOD Each of 28 graduate students of education was presented with 9 randomly ordered educational concepts, AUTHORITY, CREATIVITY, DISCIPLINE,EDUCATION, EQUALIIY, FREEDOM,KNOWLEDGE, TRADITION, and UNDERSTANDING, as well as ME, the self-concept. Concepts similar to the present set had formed distinct clusters called "progressivism" and "traditionalism" during prior research in the U. S. (Hofman, 1967), but considerable idiosyncratic variation made prediction hazardous as to the way this sample of concepts would be differentiated by Israeli subjects. Sixteen 7-step bipolar adjective pairs representing an evaluative and an active-potent (dynamic) factor served as scales on which the concepts were differentiated. The same respondents, half preceding the semantic differential task and half following it, also arranged the same concepts, in the form of simultaneously presented labeled tokens, on a mimeographed copy of a 7 X 7 checkered board.
J.
576
E. HOFMAN
&
R. MIKHAELOVICZ
They acted on instructions to organize the tokens in such a way that the final configuration best express their own view of over-all relations among concepts. Having arrived at satisfactory configurations, subjects were to copy concept labels onto the squares beneath the tokens. Distances between the concepts were then computed by assuming the distance between adjacent squares to be 1. Thus, for each subject there were now two distance matrices, obtained in counterbalanced order, one derived from semantic differentiation of rated concepe and one based on visual mediation. In addition, both the semantic and the visual matrices were summed and averaged over the 28 subjects.
RESULTS Product-moment correlations were first computed between the two matrices of each subject over the 45 paired interconcept distances. The distribution of the 28 correlation coefficients had a mean of .464 and a standard deviation of .217. All rs were positive, and the distribution did not depart significantly from normality. Concept differentiation in the two modes could be taken to be isomorphOUS. Next, a product-moment correlation was computed between the paired vatiances of matrices over the 28 subjects. A coefficient of .400 indicated a substantively and statistically significant tendency of respondents to differentiate at comparable levels in the semantic and visual modes. TABLE I
1CREATlVln
2.48
2 UNDER~TANDING 3 FREEDOM
4
EQUALITY
5 EDUCATION 6 KNOWLEDGE 7 Ma 8 'IRADITION 9 DISCIPLINE 10 AUTHORITY
1.64 2.15
2.45 2.12 1.60
3.48 2.14 2.65 2.51
3.70 2.59 2.87 3.12 1.63
3.6G 2.65 2.75
2.34 1.68 2.69
7.78 6.39 6.66 6.67 5.48 5.44 5.02
9.23 7.99 8.04 7.77 6.47 6.39 6.05 3.78
10.58 9.64 9.52 9.39 8.05 7.86 7.60 5.32 2.42
Finally, the correlation between meraged matrices over the 45 paired distances yielded a significant value of .877. Moreover, as may be seen in Tables 1 and 2, appropriate changes in the sequence of concepts show a hierarchical pattern within the matrices known as a simplex (Guttman, 1954). In a simplex formed by interconcept distances matrix elements tend to increase as one moves vertically or horizontally away from the main diagonal. The presence of this kind of order makes interpretations of concept relations more compelling.
577
CONCEPT DIFFERENTIATION
TABLE 2 INTERCONCEPT DISTANCES VIA VISUAL~IANIPULATION Conce~ts 2 1CREATIVITY 1.95 2 ME 3 UNDERSTANDING 4 FREEDOM
5
6
KNOWLEDGE EDUCATION
7 8 9
EQUALITY TRADITION DISCIPLINE
3 2.15 1.82
4 1.87 1.84 2.07
5 2.71 2.12 2.14 2.56
6 2.84 2.42 2.32 2.48 2.23
7 2.94 3.00 2.73 2.43 3.04 2.38
8 3.57 3.41 3.38 3.50 3.32 3.12 3.85
9 3.74 3.56 3.39 3.72 3.34 2.80 3.68 2.57
10 4.26 4.03 4.01 3.92 3.69 3.39 3.58 2.62 2.48
10 AUTHORITY
One notes the similarity in h e concept order of both the semantic and visual group matrices: Concepts known to be associated with a "progressive" viewpoint in education, namely, CREATIVITY, UNDERSTANDING, FREEDOM, and EQUALITY, tend to cluster at one end of the continuum, while more traditionalist concepts , at the other. The selflike TRADITION,DISCIPLINE,and A U T H O R I ~cluster concept ME is clearly placed in the visual mode but ambivalent in the semantic one. KNOWLEDGE occupies an intermediate position in both modes. In conclusion, the semantic and visual differentiation of concepts yielded isomorphous configurations. This adds to the plausibility of assuming that the psychological distance between the concepts differentiated is an inverse function of their similarity in rated meanings. Even more, it suggests the utility of substituting the simple and rapid technique of visual mediation for that of semantic differentiation. It must be kept in mind, however, that the token-and-board technique represents a two-dimensional scheme, with extension to a three-dimensional scheme feasible. A significant and substantial correlation between matrix variances over subjects also suggests a generalized tendency toward consistency in concept differentiation across at least the semantic and visual modes, remindful of Bieri's (1955) trait of cognitive complexity. Future investigations might explore individual difference~ in that consistency, such as may be found, for example, among auditorially and visually deprived individuals. REFERENCES
BIER[,J. Cognitive complexity-simplicity and predictive behavior. Jorrrnal of Abnorm.zl and Social Psychology, 1955, 51, 263-268. ENDLER. N. S. Changes in meaning during psychotherapy as measured by the semantic differential. Jotrrnal of Counseling Prychology, 1961, 8, 105-111. G U ~ A NL. . A. A new approach to factor analysis: the radex. In P. R. Lazarsfeld (Ed.), Marhematical thinking in rhe social sciences. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1954. Pp. 258-348.
578
J. E. HOFMAN
&
R. MIKHAELOVICZ
HOFMAN,J. E. An analysis of concept clusters in semantic interconcept space. American Journal o f Psychology, 1967, 53, 345-354. HOPMAN,J. E. The meaning of being a Jew in Israel: an analysis of ethnic identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1770, 15, 196-202. OSGOOD,C. E., & LURIA,2. A. A blind analysis of a case of multiple personalicy using the semantic differential. Joarnal o f Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1954, 49, 579-571. OSGOOD,C. E., SUCI, G.,& TANNENBAUM, P . T h e measurement o f meaning. Urbana, Ill.: Univer. of Illinois Press, 1957. WILLIAMS, J. E. Connotations of racial concepts and color names. ]ournal o f Personality and Social P~ychology,1966, 3 , 531-540.
Accepted February 3, 1975.
CONCEPT 1DIFFERENTIATION BY SEMANTIC AND VISUAL MEDIATION JOHN E. HOFMAN AND RINA MIKHAELOVIU University of Haifa, Israel Summary.-The assumption of disrance in interconcept space as an inverse function of similarity among concept profiles was supported by a technique of direct visual differentiation. 28 students of education each generated two matrices of interconcept distances, one by the well-known semantic differential technique and one by the manipulation of tokens on a checkered board. Configurations in the semantic and visual modes were isomorphous, that is, significantly and substantially correlated. This further suggests that visual differentiation implied by token manipulation may sometimes be substituted for semantic differentiation. There also appeared a generalized tendency toward extent of differentiation in the semantic and visual modes.
The notion of distance in semantic space appears to be based on the assumption that psychological distance between the concepts differentiated is some inverse function of their similarity in rated meaning (Osgood, Suci, & Tamenbaum, 1957). The more similar two concept profiles are in rated meaning the less distant they are held to be in the mind of the rater. Thus, identification and ethnic identity have been operationalized in terms of the similarity between ratings of the self-concept ( M E ) and such concepts as FATHER and GERMAN, respectively (Endler, 1961; Hofman, 1970; Osgood & Luria, 1964; Williams, 1966). While the similarity/distance assumption has stood up rather well in research using the semantic differential, it ought to be supported by the application of other techniques.
METHOD Each of 28 graduate students of education was presented with 9 randomly ordered educational concepts, AUTHORITY, CREATIVITY, DISCIPLINE,EDUCATION, EQUALIIY, FREEDOM,KNOWLEDGE, TRADITION, and UNDERSTANDING, as well as ME, the self-concept. Concepts similar to the present set had formed distinct clusters called "progressivism" and "traditionalism" during prior research in the U. S. (Hofman, 1967), but considerable idiosyncratic variation made prediction hazardous as to the way this sample of concepts would be differentiated by Israeli subjects. Sixteen 7-step bipolar adjective pairs representing an evaluative and an active-potent (dynamic) factor served as scales on which the concepts were differentiated. The same respondents, half preceding the semantic differential task and half following it, also arranged the same concepts, in the form of simultaneously presented labeled tokens, on a mimeographed copy of a 7 X 7 checkered board.
J.
576
E. HOFMAN
&
R. MIKHAELOVICZ
They acted on instructions to organize the tokens in such a way that the final configuration best express their own view of over-all relations among concepts. Having arrived at satisfactory configurations, subjects were to copy concept labels onto the squares beneath the tokens. Distances between the concepts were then computed by assuming the distance between adjacent squares to be 1. Thus, for each subject there were now two distance matrices, obtained in counterbalanced order, one derived from semantic differentiation of rated concepe and one based on visual mediation. In addition, both the semantic and the visual matrices were summed and averaged over the 28 subjects.
RESULTS Product-moment correlations were first computed between the two matrices of each subject over the 45 paired interconcept distances. The distribution of the 28 correlation coefficients had a mean of .464 and a standard deviation of .217. All rs were positive, and the distribution did not depart significantly from normality. Concept differentiation in the two modes could be taken to be isomorphOUS. Next, a product-moment correlation was computed between the paired vatiances of matrices over the 28 subjects. A coefficient of .400 indicated a substantively and statistically significant tendency of respondents to differentiate at comparable levels in the semantic and visual modes. TABLE I
1CREATlVln
2.48
2 UNDER~TANDING 3 FREEDOM
4
EQUALITY
5 EDUCATION 6 KNOWLEDGE 7 Ma 8 'IRADITION 9 DISCIPLINE 10 AUTHORITY
1.64 2.15
2.45 2.12 1.60
3.48 2.14 2.65 2.51
3.70 2.59 2.87 3.12 1.63
3.6G 2.65 2.75
2.34 1.68 2.69
7.78 6.39 6.66 6.67 5.48 5.44 5.02
9.23 7.99 8.04 7.77 6.47 6.39 6.05 3.78
10.58 9.64 9.52 9.39 8.05 7.86 7.60 5.32 2.42
Finally, the correlation between meraged matrices over the 45 paired distances yielded a significant value of .877. Moreover, as may be seen in Tables 1 and 2, appropriate changes in the sequence of concepts show a hierarchical pattern within the matrices known as a simplex (Guttman, 1954). In a simplex formed by interconcept distances matrix elements tend to increase as one moves vertically or horizontally away from the main diagonal. The presence of this kind of order makes interpretations of concept relations more compelling.
577
CONCEPT DIFFERENTIATION
TABLE 2 INTERCONCEPT DISTANCES VIA VISUAL~IANIPULATION Conce~ts 2 1CREATIVITY 1.95 2 ME 3 UNDERSTANDING 4 FREEDOM
5
6
KNOWLEDGE EDUCATION
7 8 9
EQUALITY TRADITION DISCIPLINE
3 2.15 1.82
4 1.87 1.84 2.07
5 2.71 2.12 2.14 2.56
6 2.84 2.42 2.32 2.48 2.23
7 2.94 3.00 2.73 2.43 3.04 2.38
8 3.57 3.41 3.38 3.50 3.32 3.12 3.85
9 3.74 3.56 3.39 3.72 3.34 2.80 3.68 2.57
10 4.26 4.03 4.01 3.92 3.69 3.39 3.58 2.62 2.48
10 AUTHORITY
One notes the similarity in h e concept order of both the semantic and visual group matrices: Concepts known to be associated with a "progressive" viewpoint in education, namely, CREATIVITY, UNDERSTANDING, FREEDOM, and EQUALITY, tend to cluster at one end of the continuum, while more traditionalist concepts , at the other. The selflike TRADITION,DISCIPLINE,and A U T H O R I ~cluster concept ME is clearly placed in the visual mode but ambivalent in the semantic one. KNOWLEDGE occupies an intermediate position in both modes. In conclusion, the semantic and visual differentiation of concepts yielded isomorphous configurations. This adds to the plausibility of assuming that the psychological distance between the concepts differentiated is an inverse function of their similarity in rated meanings. Even more, it suggests the utility of substituting the simple and rapid technique of visual mediation for that of semantic differentiation. It must be kept in mind, however, that the token-and-board technique represents a two-dimensional scheme, with extension to a three-dimensional scheme feasible. A significant and substantial correlation between matrix variances over subjects also suggests a generalized tendency toward consistency in concept differentiation across at least the semantic and visual modes, remindful of Bieri's (1955) trait of cognitive complexity. Future investigations might explore individual difference~ in that consistency, such as may be found, for example, among auditorially and visually deprived individuals. REFERENCES
BIER[,J. Cognitive complexity-simplicity and predictive behavior. Jorrrnal of Abnorm.zl and Social Psychology, 1955, 51, 263-268. ENDLER. N. S. Changes in meaning during psychotherapy as measured by the semantic differential. Jotrrnal of Counseling Prychology, 1961, 8, 105-111. G U ~ A NL. . A. A new approach to factor analysis: the radex. In P. R. Lazarsfeld (Ed.), Marhematical thinking in rhe social sciences. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1954. Pp. 258-348.
578
J. E. HOFMAN
&
R. MIKHAELOVICZ
HOFMAN,J. E. An analysis of concept clusters in semantic interconcept space. American Journal o f Psychology, 1967, 53, 345-354. HOPMAN,J. E. The meaning of being a Jew in Israel: an analysis of ethnic identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1770, 15, 196-202. OSGOOD,C. E., & LURIA,2. A. A blind analysis of a case of multiple personalicy using the semantic differential. Joarnal o f Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1954, 49, 579-571. OSGOOD,C. E., SUCI, G.,& TANNENBAUM, P . T h e measurement o f meaning. Urbana, Ill.: Univer. of Illinois Press, 1957. WILLIAMS, J. E. Connotations of racial concepts and color names. ]ournal o f Personality and Social P~ychology,1966, 3 , 531-540.
Accepted February 3, 1975.
