Threshold-Calibrated Word Sense Disambiguation: Semantic Broadening Without Sense Redistribution in Schizophrenia
We introduce a novel sense-aware pipeline for distinguishing word senses in context and tracking their prevalence over time in text corpora. Using schizophrenia in historical U.S. news articles as a case study, it shows how semantic broadening can be distinguished from sense redistribution by combining word sense disambiguation with lexical semantic change detection metrics.
Mar 12, 2026
LSC-Eval: A General Framework to Evaluate Methods for Assessing Dimensions of Lexical Semantic Change Using LLM-Generated Synthetic Data
We introduce a scalable, domain-general framework that creates diachronic, LLM-generated synthetic datasets to simulate theory-driven Lexical Semantic Change (LSC) and evaluates various methods for measuring kinds of LSC--using examples from psychology, we apply this framework to assess the sensitivity of a suite of methods in detecting artificially induced changes in dimensions of Sentiment, Intensity, and Breadth (SIB), ultimately identifying the most suitable approach for each dimension.
Mar 11, 2025
A Multidimensional Framework for Evaluating Lexical Semantic Change with Social Science Applications
This study proposes a computational framework to evaluate lexical semantic change in a way that economically integrates forms identified by historical linguists and uses it to analyze semantic shifts in mental health and mental illness.
Aug 11, 2024
What should we call mental ill health? Historical shifts in the popularity of generic terms
We wrote a piece on our study in THE CONVERSATION: https://theconversation.com/mental-illness-psychiatric-disorder-or-psychological-problem-what-should-we-call-mental-distress-226748?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1717543647-1
Jun 4, 2024
The structure and evolution of social psychology: a co-citation network analysis
May 15, 2024
A search for commonalities in defining the common good: Using folk theories to unlock shared conceptions
We wrote a piece on the study in THE CONVERSATION: https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-common-good-actually-mean-our-research-found-common-ground-across-the-political-divide-220843
Jan 2, 2024
Semantic Shifts in Mental Health-Related Concepts
Link to slides that accompanied my 20-minute Presentation on this paper that was accepted to a workshop - “4th International Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change 2023 (LChange ’23)” - on December 6 2023 at Resorts World Convention Centre, Singapore, affiliated with Empirical Methods for Natural Language Processing (EMNLP) 2023 Conference: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/semantic-shifts-in-mental-healthrelated-concepts/264396458
Dec 6, 2023
The semantic inflation of “trauma” in psychology
This work is the culmination of my Honours thesis. Link to slides: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/the-semantic-inflation-of-trauma-in-psychology-naomi-baes-ekaterina-vylomova-mike-j-zyphur-nick-haslam/254846644
Aug 11, 2023
Have the concepts of ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ been normalized or pathologized? A corpus study of historical semantic change
This work is the culmination of Yu Xiao’s terrific Honours project, which I helped with. We wrote a quick piece on it in PURSUIT: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/do-we-think-about-anxiety-and-depression-differently-now
Jun 29, 2023
Has Psychology Become More Positive? Trends in Language Use in Article Abstracts
May 30, 2022