A METHOD OF PATTERN ANALYSIS FOR ISOLATING TYPOLOGICAL AND DIMENSIONAL CONSTRUCTS

摘要

This paper develops and illustrates a method of analyzing patterns of responses which permits interpretation of them as being indicative of a limited number of inferred characteristics. The method is called simi¬larity analysis. It accepts the same methodological postulate as does fac¬tor analysis, namely that progress in a science is assisted by an objective method of classifying its subject matter into fundamental variables. Simi¬larity analysis broadens the employment of this tenet by applying it to categorized data in such a manner as to admit to the analysis any kind of concatenation in the psychological variables; it is not restricted to linear relationships. In addition, it is less restrictive than factor analysis in the assumed nature of inferred constructs. Instead of postulating dimen¬sional constructs or factors, it postulates merely inferred characteristics which may be either typological or dimensional in nature.