the lexicon for madness in a Colombian city: an exploration in semantic space1

Abstract
In recent years social scientists, in general, and anthropologists, in particular, have attempted to specify the components of man's cognitive organization of his experiential world. The investigation reported here explores an alternative approach to this problem, combining survey research procedures with componential analysis. Features underlying the concept of loco (‘insane person’) are extracted from synonyms provided by large samples of laymen and medical‐paramedical specialists in a Colombian city. Results indicate three sets of primary and secondary contrasts generally used in this cultural setting and also suggest differences in cognitive organization between the two samples.

This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit: