IS AN APPLE A FRUIT - SEMANTIC RELATEDNESS AS REFLECTED BY PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSIVITY

In the present study, we investigated orienting response generalizatio n across various types of semantically related stimuli. Four experimen ts, based on a modified version of the guilty knowledge technique, wer e designed to examine whether semantic relations based on abstract fea tures are reflected by electrodermal responsivity. No generalization a cross coordinates was obtained, but a moderate degree of generalizatio n was demonstrated between a word and its superordinate category (e.g. , table-furniture) and between a word and its synonym. Complete genera lization occurred from a verbal label of an object to its pictorial re presentation, and vice versa. These results are compatible with our pr oposal that partial identification of the test stimulus as relevant is a necessary condition for generalization in the guilty knowledge tech nique.