Chapter 3 - Semantic and ontological structures of psychological attributes

Abstract

This chapter reviews the person-situation dimension in behavior prediction through the semantic theory of survey responses (STSR). This theory proposes that the most likely source of variation in correlations between scores on Likert-scale items is overlap in meaning. We review and explain a growing number of empirical studies that support this: Up to 86% of the variation in correlation matrices may be explained using text algorithms. Also, semantics seem to predetermine the relationships between different scales, including those cast as “predictors” and “outcomes” of one another. The studies seek to establish semantic properties on population, group, and individual levels, showing that comparisons of score levels across groups are affected by predictable differences in their interpretation of items. The findings relativize the importance of data collected by semantically influenced surveys. On the bright side, they open new ways of matching individual and group level characteristics to the general population.