| Abstract: | In this study female students in different phases of the menstrual cycle made a test of word association. The results were represented and compared in a pathfinder-network. This special network is a model of knowledge representation in which words are portrayed as nodes, and links between nodes represent associations. This method (pathfinder), developed by Schvaneveldt (1990), generates associative networks from individual's ratings of similarity of word pairs. 51 women had to judge 45 words of the three categories sexual, romantic and neutral in similarity. These networks were compared regarding probability of contraception, partnership and level of testosterone. The number and weights of links differed between women with high and low probability of contraception. The level of testosterone had a large influence on the density of associations, especially in sexual contents. |
