The comparability of verbal and nonverbal semantic differential scales in a joint semantic space

Cross‐cultural Comparisons on Psychosemantics of Icons and Graphics

“…The present results also appear to be consistent with those found in the Graphic Differential research by Tzeng and French (1986). The dominance of E-P-A as the leading factors in nonverbal semantic space seems to confirm the general belief that E-P-A are indeed universal and dominant in human affective systems.…”

“…For crosscultural comparisons in the ratings of the 10 graphics and 10 icons, a common set of 21 7-step bi-polar scales were selected from the semantic differential (SD) literature, especially from the publications on graphic ratings (Osgood et al 1975;French 1977;Tzeng and French 1986). These SD scales, as shown in table 1, contained nine markers for three dominant affective dimensions (Evaluation, Potency, and Activity) found in Osgood's cross-cultural research.…”

“…For example, in cross-cultural semantic differential research, Osgood and associates (Osgood et al 1975; Tzeng and Osgood 1976) identified three affective (E: Evaluation, P: Potency, and A: Activity) features that were then used to measure meanings of some 50 aspects of life experiences across 30 language/culture communities around the world. These verbal semantic features have further been validated in the nonverbal context by Tzeng and French (1986). However, no study has focused on meanings of graphs and icons that represent ancient'pictures in early civilization.…”