Statistical Semantics

This book discusses the application of various statistical methods to texts, rather than numbers, in various fields in behavioral science. It proposes an approach where quantitative methods are applied to data whereas previously such data were analyzed only by qualitative research methods. To emphasize the quantitative aspects of semantics, and the possibilities of conducting scientific interferences, the book introduces the concept of statistical semantics and presents the reader with a subset of techniques found in that domain. More specifically, the book focuses on methods that allow the investigation of semantic relationships between words, based on empirical corpus data. It shows the reader how to apply various statistical methods on texts, for example statistical tests to ascertain whether two sets of text are statistically different, ways to predict variables from text, as well as how to summarize and graphically illustrate texts. Thus, the book presents an accessible hands-on introduction to a selection of techniques, indispensable for cognitive psychologists, linguists, and social psychologists.

Part I. Methods.- Chapter 1. Introduction to Statistical Semantics; Ricardo Olmos.- Chapter 2. What is Meaning?; Johan Willander.- Chapter 3. Preparing Corpus for Semantic Representations; Christian Hardmeier.- Chapter 4. Creating Semantic Representations; Guillermo de Jorge Botana.- Chapter 5. Software for Creating and Analyzing Semantic Representations; Christian Hardmeier.- Chapter 6. Semantic Scales and Tests; Farhan Sawar, Danilo Garcia and Sverker Sikström.- Chapter 7. Predicting Numbers from Texts; Sverker Sikström.- Chapter 8. Replacing Likert-Scales with Semantic Questions.- Chapter 9. Clustering and Other Methods in Statistical Semantics; Rasmus Bååth and Sverker Sikström.- Part II. Applications.- Chapter 10. Neuroscience: Atypical Associations to Abstract Words in Broca’s Aphasia; Mikael Roll, Frida Mårtensson, Sverker Sikström, Pia Apt, Rasmus Arnling-Bååth and Merle Horne.- Chapter 11. Cognitive Psychology; The Application of Statistical Semantics in Memory Research; Kristina Karlsson, Sverker Sikström and Johan Willander.- Chapter 12. Personality and Happiness; The Happy Life Story; Danilo Garcia and Sverker Sikström.- Chapter 13. Forensic Psychology: Studying Lying Behavior with Semantic Spaces; Farhan Sarwar and Sverker Sikström.- Chapter 14. Social Psychology: Evaluations of Social Groups with Statistical Semantics; Marie Gustafsson and Torun Lindholm.- Chapter 15. Linguistics: Application of Statistical Semantics to Predict Linguistic Maturity and Language Impairment in Children; Kristina Hansson, Birgitta Sahlen, Rasmus Bååth, Simone Löhndorf and Sverker Sikström.- Chapter 16. The Future of Statistical Semantics: Concluding Remarks and Suggestion for Future Research.