Psychiatry and Psychology

Semantic Differential

Analysis of word concepts by the association of polar adjectives, e.g., good-bad, with the concept, father. The adjectives are usually scaled in 7 steps. The subject's placement of the concept on the adjectival scale indicates the connotative meaning of the concept.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Analysis of word concepts by the association of polar adjectives, e.g., good-bad, with the concept, father. The adjectives are usually scaled in 7 steps. The subject's placement of the concept on the adjectival scale indicates the connotative meaning of the concept.

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Related Concepts

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

3 entry terms
  • Differential, Semantic
  • Differentials, Semantic
  • Semantic Differentials

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

3 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings history, standards, statistics & numerical data.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

a type of psychological test: do not confuse with SEMANTICS

MeSH Record

History Note

68

MeSH Record

Previous Indexing

  • Psychological Tests (1966-1967)
  • Semantics (1966-1967)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. F02w.694w.663w
  2. F04.711w.647w.745w

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Semantic Differential. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D012659. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D012659
  2. Semantic Differential. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_differential
  3. Semantic Differential. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1662954