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We show that they have a small\u2010world structure, characterized by sparse connectivity, short average path lengths between words, and strong local clustering. In addition, the distributions of the number of connections follow power laws that indicate a scale\u2010free pattern of connectivity, with most nodes having relatively few connections joined together through a small number of hubs with many connections. These regularities have also been found in certain other complex natural networks, such as the World Wide Web, but they are not consistent with many conventional models of semantic organization, based on inheritance hierarchies, arbitrarily structured networks, or high\u2010dimensional vector spaces. We propose that these structures reflect the mechanisms by which semantic networks grow. We describe a simple model for semantic growth, in which each new word or concept is connected to an existing network by differentiating the connectivity pattern of an existing node. This model generates appropriate small\u2010world statistics and power\u2010law connectivity distributions, and it also suggests one possible mechanistic basis for the effects of learning history variables (age of acquisition, usage frequency) on behavioral performance in semantic processing tasks.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1207\/s15516709cog2901_3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2005,1,22]],"date-time":"2005-01-22T02:14:19Z","timestamp":1106360059000},"page":"41-78","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":833,"title":["The Large\u2010Scale Structure of Semantic Networks: Statistical Analyses and a Model of Semantic Growth"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Mark","family":"Steyvers","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joshua B.","family":"Tenenbaum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2005,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/3-540-48155-9_27"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_3_1","unstructured":"Adamic L. 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