[Coding/Special Scores] CONTAM

[Coding/Special Scores] CONTAM

Aliases

• CONTAM
• contamination
• perceptual contamination

Definition

CONTAM is coded when two incompatible percepts are fused into one contaminated response.
It does not describe only an odd mixture, but an impossible integration within one final percept.

Conditions

• Use CONTAM when one response joins two perceptions in a contaminated way that would normally need to remain separate.
• The key point is that the final product is presented as one fused perception, not as two ideas simply being compared.
• The response should sound impossible or internally contradictory because of the fusion itself.
• CONTAM represents a particularly severe form of distortion and later carries weight in Sum6 and WSum6.

Cautions

• If the main problem is an incongruous combination inside the response, but not a contaminated fusion, review INCOM2.
• If the main oddity is a fabulized relation between elements, review FABCOM2.
• CONTAM is not used just because a response is highly imaginative or symbolic.
• There has to be genuine perceptual contamination, not only a striking metaphorical description.

Cross References

• [Coding/Special Scores] Special Scores
• [Coding/Special Scores] INCOM2
• [Coding/Special Scores] FABCOM2
• [Interpretation/Ideation] Sum6
• [Interpretation/Ideation] WSum6

Evidence Note

• Detailed source comparisons remain in the internal provenance note.