Three-mode analysis of perceptions of economic activities in Eastern and Western Europe

Abstract

Data on similarities and differences in perceptions of economic activities in Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were collected. The data set is a three-mode one consisting of economic activities (mode 1) scored on rating scales (mode 2) by a number of individuals or judges (mode 3). The major thesis of this paper is that such data should be analyzed by three-mode analysis methods rather than two-mode methods. To demonstrate this, the data were analyzed with three-mode principal component analysis (PCA) using the program TUCKALS3. Both the decisions which precede the three-mode analysis, the three-mode analysis itself, and its interpretation are illustrated and explained. The paper treats three-mode PCA in some detail in order to show how it can be applied to unravel structures in complicated three-mode data which frequently arise in the field of economic perception. The substantive result is that there is a perceptual space common to all four nations. It is characterized by contrasts between economic and social values, by immediate or delayed consequences of activities, and by a difference between occupational and private activities. The most striking difference between countries is that the British have a different view of the financial resources necessary for certain activities compared to inhabitants of the other three countries. PsycINFO classification: 2240, 3040