dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaHow to predict creativity ratings from written narratives: A comparison of co-occurrence and textual forma mentis networks
| Authors | Roberto Passaro, Edith Haim, Massimo Stella |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | 2601.07327vv1 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07327 |
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Abstract
This tutorial paper provides a step-by-step workflow for building and analysing semantic networks from short creative texts. We introduce and compare two widely used text-to-network approaches: word co-occurrence networks and textual forma mentis networks (TFMNs). We also demonstrate how they can be used in machine learning to predict human creativity ratings. Using a corpus of 1029 short stories, we guide readers through text preprocessing, network construction, feature extraction (structural measures, spreading-activation indices, and emotion scores), and application of regression models. We evaluate how network-construction choices influence both network topology and predictive performance. Across all modelling settings, TFMNs consistently outperformed co-occurrence networks through lower prediction errors (best MAE = 0.581 for TFMN, vs 0.592 for co-occurrence with window size 3). Network-structural features dominated predictive performance (MAE = 0.591 for TFMN), whereas emotion features performed worse (MAE = 0.711 for TFMN) and spreading-activation measures contributed little (MAE = 0.788 for TFMN). This paper offers practical guidance for researchers interested in applying network-based methods for cognitive fields like creativity research. we show when syntactic networks are preferable to surface co-occurrence models, and provide an open, reproducible workflow accessible to newcomers in the field, while also offering deeper methodological insight for experienced researchers.
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"abstract": "This tutorial paper provides a step-by-step workflow for building and analysing semantic networks from short creative texts. We introduce and compare two widely used text-to-network approaches: word co-occurrence networks and textual forma mentis networks (TFMNs). We also demonstrate how they can be used in machine learning to predict human creativity ratings. Using a corpus of 1029 short stories, we guide readers through text preprocessing, network construction, feature extraction (structural measures, spreading-activation indices, and emotion scores), and application of regression models. We evaluate how network-construction choices influence both network topology and predictive performance. Across all modelling settings, TFMNs consistently outperformed co-occurrence networks through lower prediction errors (best MAE = 0.581 for TFMN, vs 0.592 for co-occurrence with window size 3). Network-structural features dominated predictive performance (MAE = 0.591 for TFMN), whereas emotion features performed worse (MAE = 0.711 for TFMN) and spreading-activation measures contributed little (MAE = 0.788 for TFMN). This paper offers practical guidance for researchers interested in applying network-based methods for cognitive fields like creativity research. we show when syntactic networks are preferable to surface co-occurrence models, and provide an open, reproducible workflow accessible to newcomers in the field, while also offering deeper methodological insight for experienced researchers.",
"arxiv_id": "2601.07327",
"authors": [
"Roberto Passaro",
"Edith Haim",
"Massimo Stella"
],
"categories": [
"cs.CL"
],
"license": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"title": "How to predict creativity ratings from written narratives: A comparison of co-occurrence and textual forma mentis networks",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07327",
"version": "v1"
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