Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
Published on: March 1, 2022
Negative Similarities Versus Correlational Similarities
Abstract:
The relationship between correlational similarities and negative similarities was studied on political perception data. One sample of 199 subjects gave estimates of the degree of positive similarity among stimuli. The columns of the mean similarity were intercorrelated, yielding a matrix of correlational similarities. Another sample of 148 subjects gave also similarity estimates among the same stimuli but were allowed to express negative similarities when stimuli were perceived as opposite to each other, yielding a matrix of mean negative similarities. The linear relationship between corresponding elements in the two matrices was very high (r = .954). Further, a dimension analysis on respective data gave three corresponding, highly congruent dimensions. Implications of the high congruence between correlational and negative similarities are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect
Factors Influencing Attraction III: Similarity
Correlations
Correlation and Causation
Correlation versus Causation
If the dependent variable increases or decreases when the independent variable increases, there is a positive or negative...
Correlation
Two variables, for example, a and b, are said to be positively correlated if both variables move in the same direction. In other words, a positive correlation exists between two variables, a and b, if:
Negative Regulator Molecules

