Some semantic patterns of cardiac patients

The authors investigate the semantic patterns of patients who after a myocardial infarction are taking part in a long-term rehabilitation program. By means of a specially constructed semantic differential they measure and factor-analyze the attitudes of 50 male patients towards 15 clinico-medical concepts. Data from 60 healthy female controls yielded almost identical factor loadings for the stimulus terms, describing obviously the same perceptual structure having a strong temporal component. The spatial clustering of the concept reveals minor particularities which are specific for the view of the postinfarctional patients.