Measuring object similarity using the method of free clustering is gaining in popularity. Instructions are usually simple and since no structure is imposed on the subject's selection, response bias is reduced. More importantly, measures of object similarity derived from the judges' clustering can be adequately analyzed by the methods of…

Nine independent groups of students totaling 863 subjects made a metric judgment of 13 concepts (TV programs) in a study to assess the selection of the best criterion pair in a metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) task. Using the GALILEO metric MDS program, judgments were scaled and plotted in three-dimensional space. The three hypotheses were…

Two lines of psychometric interest are combined: a) multidimensional scaling and, b) factor analysis. This is achieved by employing three-mode factor analysis of scalar product matrices, one for each subject. Two of the modes are the group of objects scaled and the third is the sample of subjects. Resulting from this are, an object space, a person…

The use of Kruskal's nonmetric multidimensional scaling model for analysis of classroom interaction data is discussed. Four distance models are proposed which lead to multidimensional representation of single sequences, sets of sequences, and behavior categories using symmetric and conditional proximity options of the model. Results of application…

When Torgerson's multidimensional scaling model is used in conjunction with the method of tetrads, derived coordinates are based on data which is assumed to be distributed normally. The object of this study was to determine the amount of error contained in derived coordinates when the normality assumption is violated. Torgerson coordinates were…

An alternative formulation for Guttman scaling is presented. The new formulation is described, and advantages over Guttman's formulation are detailed. The method is assumption-free and capable of multidimensional analysis. (Author/JKS)

An examination is made concerning the utility and design of studies comparing nonmetric multidimensional scaling algorithms and their initial configurations, as well as the agreement between the results of such studies. Various practical details of nonmetric scaling are also considered. (Author/JKS)

Several nonmetric multidimensional scaling random ranking studies are discussed in response to the preceding article (TM 503 490). The choice of a starting configuration is discussed and the use of principal component analysis in obtaining such a configuration is recommended over a randomly chosen one. (JKS)

In order to perform structural analysis of environmental perception and cognition, multidimensional scaling based on similarity and preference ratings were compared to the semantic differential technique in a study employing perspective drawings of urban and suburban views sampled from a medium-sized Swedish city. (BT)

In this study, multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to measure how 23 chemical engineering seniors categorized key design terms at the beginning and end of a capstone design course. An on-line method was developed to collect the MDS data. The results suggest that some important design concepts were not well understood, even at the end of the…

Although investigators have developed valid and reliable multidimensional scales for assessing self-concept, little research has examined the potential associations between internalizing and externalizing disorders in children and adolescents with the multiple dimensions of self-concept. The authors hypothesized that specific dimensions of…

Paper shows that an obvious generalization of the subjective metrics model by Bloxom, Horan, Carroll and Chang has a very simple algebraic solution which was previously considered by Meredith in a different context. (Author)

Two models for psychological distances, the hierarchical clustering model and the multidimensional Euclidean model, are compared to see how they relate to each other. (Author/RK)

Paper develops a model which expresses pair comparisons as a function of (a) affective values which form a perfect simplex, (b) systematic (constant over replications) deviations from the simplex-structured affective values, and (c) errors of measurement for the pair comparisons. (Author)