The superordination relation and the symmetry of verbal associations in selected parts of the mental lexicon

The paper discusses the role of the superordination relation in the semantic organization of the mental lexicon. The method of three consecutive free association tests (reactions from the previous test are stimuli in the next one, so lists of stimuli are prepared for each respondent separately) was used to determine the role of different kinds of semantic relations in building some fragments of the lexicon. A detailed semantic analysis made in 1200 recurrent (symmetrical) and non-recurrent “chains” built with associations given by 50 secondary school students (Polish language users) revealed the relative importance of the superordination relation as a factor connecting elements of the mental lexicon: the hyponymy/hyperonymy relation occurs more regularly in various lexicon parts than other paradigmatic relations.