A multidimensional unfolding technique that is not prone to degenerate solutions and is based on multidimensional scaling of a complete data matrix is proposed: distance information about the unfolding data and about the distances both among judges and among objects is included in the complete matrix. The latter information is derived from the…

This study linked nonlinear profile analysis (NPA) of dichotomous responses with an existing family of item response theory models and generalized latent variable models (GLVM). The NPA method offers several benefits over previous internal profile analysis methods: (a) NPA is estimated with maximum likelihood in a GLVM framework rather than…

This paper describes the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) parameterization of the Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) model to demonstrate validation of profile pattern hypotheses derived from multidimensional scaling (MDS). Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) is an exploratory method for identifying major…

Presents main similarity task methods available for scaling a large objects set and reviews their practicality. Discusses ways to increase the efficiency of the similarity task while maintaining satisfactory scaling solutions. Notes that the choice of appropriate task first depends on the kind of objects of stimuli being scaled. (SLD)

Investigated the usefulness of multidimensional scaling (MDS) for assessing the dimensionality of dichotomous test data. Focused on two MDS proximity measures, one based on the PC statistic (T. Chen and M. Davidson, 1996) and other, on interitem Euclidean distances. Simulation results show that both MDS procedures correctly identify…

Several methodological issues in the multidimensional scaling of coarse dissimilarities were studied, examining whether it was better to scale dissimilarity data directly or to scale a new matrix derived from the original by row comparisons. Findings support an alternative row-comparison measure based on the Jacard coefficient. (SLD)

A multidimensional scaling procedure is introduced that attempts to derive a spatial representation of stimuli unconfounded by the effect of subjects' degrees of familiarity with these stimuli. A Monte Carlo study investigating the extent to which the procedure recovers known parameters shows that the procedure succeeds in adjusting for…

Two of the most popular methods of profile analysis, cluster analysis and modal profile analysis, have limitations. First, neither technique is adequate when the sample size is large. Second, neither method will necessarily provide profile information in terms of both level and pattern. A new method of profile analysis, called Profile Analysis via…

The stability of dimensions extracted from a body of free response data was studied using 1,523 expressions of concern and questions raised by 271 elderly persons and analyzed by 2 groups of experimenters. The structures of resulting multidimensional configurations obtained by the 2 groups were identical. (SLD)

Exploratory multidimensional scaling and confirmatory nonparametric procedures were used to represent data from similarity rating and sorting tasks on nine animal names administered prior to and following the reading of two stories using those names as main characters. Changes in structure were related to authors' intent. (Author/JKS)

Presents an approach to multidimensional unfolding that reduces the occurrence of degenerate solutions and conducts a Monte Carlo study to demonstrate the superiority of the new method to the ALSCAL and KYST nonmetric procedures for student preference data. (SLD)

Multidimensional scaling was used to study the comprehension of prose. Undergraduates rated the similarity of twenty nouns before and after reading passages containing those nouns. Results indicated that the scaling analysis provided an effective valid indicator of prose representation. (Author/JKS)

A study involving 11 male and 11 female inhabitants of Leiden (Netherlands) tested the hypothesis that a subject's judgments of the personality of unfamiliar target persons correspond better with the subject's Implicit Personality Theory than do judgments of the personality of familiar persons. The results confirm the hypothesis. (TJH)

Structural equation modeling is applied in conjunction with constrained monotone distance analysis. These alternative methods are used in an evaluation of a social-psychological model derived from Likert's theory of organizational behavior. (Author/JKS)

Analysis of the pairwise preferences of pairs of gambling stimuli elicited from each of 40 chronic schizophrenic inpatients, 32 schizophrenic outpatients, and 33 siblings or parents of these patients indicates that choice behavior was usually determined by the expected value of the stimuli, with no significant differences among groups. (SLD)