The connotative similarity of Remote Associates Test (RAT) items as a function of their cultural availability was investigated. It was demonstrated that RAT items whose correct answers are readily available in the culture as associative responses to the stimulus terms comprising their respective RAT items are more connotatively dissimilar than RAT items whose correct responses are not so readily available. The implication that the RAT is a heterogeneous instrument requiring a variety of cognitive processes was briefly discussed.
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