Facet Theory Research Articles

Introduction to Facet Theory and its Applications

Although facet theory has roots in Guttman's writings as early as the 1950s (cf. Guttman, 1954), frequent applications of facet analysis did not begin to appear until around the 1970s. Guttman first applied his theoretical perspective to problems in the area of the structure of intelligence (e.g. Guttman, 1957; 1965). In the years that have followed since those early publications, empirical research using facet theory has flourished in countries on several continents and in a wide variety of content areas in the social and behavioural sciences. This introduction first briefly reviews the basic principles underlying facet theory. Then it introduces the six papers that follow in which facet theory is applied to research in psychology.

Second International Facet Theory Conference July 4-6, 1989

Second International Facet Theory Conference July 4-6, 1989

Facet theory used to establish taxonomic subclasses for “application” with an example from science teaching

Facet theory used to establish taxonomic subclasses for “application” with an example from science teaching

Using a Facet Design to Assess the Effects of the Form, the Source, and the Frequency of Information Necessary to Answer ESL Reading Comprehension Questions

Determining what reading comprehension questions actually measure is difficult to ascertain objectively. Facet theory and design suggest a means to define operationally what a given item measures by studying how an item is related to textually or nontextually based information. Three facets or structs (the form of information [explicit or implicit], the source of information [text or nontext], and the frequency with which the information appeared in the text) were entered into regression equations to determine how much variance the structs accounted for in the item scores from ESL reading comprehension tests from different levels of proficiency. The results suggested that the facets were differentially related to the item scores at different levels of proficiency.Further true experimental research is suggested using the facet design to study the effects of the structs and to provide useful diagnostic information in terms of a typology of items that readers answered correctly and incorrectly.

Problems of generalizing from a sample of a population called deviant: The case of methadone-maintained women and their infants

The difficulties of obtaining classical experimental and control groups when sampling populations called deviant often lead researchers to analyze data from index and comparison groups (for example, drug users and non-users, respectively). When one is dealing with such samples, classical hypothesis testing and its associated inferential statistics are inappropriate. Yet, social scientists can generalize from their samples on the basis of facet theory, with its associated tools of the mapping sentence, smallest space analysis (SSA), and multidimensional scalogram analysis (MSA). These are illustrated and discussed with data taken from a large research project concerned with infants born to women who were using methadone.

個人差および階層性を考慮した住環境評価構造のモデル化 : 認知心理学に基づく住環境評価に関する研究(2)

In this study, the following requirements were set up to make the knowledge obtained by a place evaluation research viable as design guidelines. 1) The knowledge obtained ought to be a phenomenological representation of people's evaluation. In other words, if there are individual differences, they should also be clarified as a part of the knowledge. 2) The knowledge ought to be a statistically condensed and tested representation of people's evaluation by respecting their variety in the taste. In the previous paper, based on G. A. Kelly's personal construct theory, the evaluation grid method was elaborated to satisfy the first requirement. In this paper, to satisfy the second requirement, the phenomenological subgrouping approach followed by the facet theory approach is elaborated. The subgrouping approach is to reconcile the two seemingly contradictory requirements listed above (i.e. phenomenological vs statistical). The facet theory approach which works on SSA is to produce models of place evaluation by respecting their hierarchical structure. By combining these two approaches, SSA models of place evaluation can be obtained along the groups of people who share similar construct systems in their evaluation. An example of the application of these research methods on the living room evaluation is also presented, and the validity as well as the viability of the models obtained are discussed.

The multivariate structure of communication avoidance

Communication scholars have given much attention to individual differences in communication avoidance. This interest has led to the development of numerous constructs, e.g., communication apprehension, reticence, unwillingness‐to‐communicate, and interaction involvement. Comparative analyses of the various constructs have typically drawn conclusions about their conceptual relatedness on the basis of statistical associations among their respective measures. This approach is plagued by widespread incongruity between the theoretical domain of constructs and their operationalizations. This study attempted to clarify the nature of communication avoidance via a structural analysis grounded in facet theory. Evidence was found for a duplex model of avoidance in which theoretical distinctions among modalities of approach‐avoidance (cognitive, affective, behavioral) and context (dyadic, group, public) proved empirically relevant. Implications of these findings for the explication, treatment, and assessment of communication avoidance are discussed.

Note on the relation between sample and speckle displacements. A random-phase screen approach

We study experimentally the relation between sample and speckle displacements in the far-field diffraction plane for different ratios of translation to boiling speckle contributions. The theoretical predictions of both random-phase screen and facet theory are compared with the experimental data obtained in the subspeckle displacement range. It is shown that the correction based on the ratio of correlation times (indicating the time required for speckles to transverse the distance between two different points in space to the correlation time of speckle intensity fluctuations) gives a reasonable agreement between measured displacements and those predicted by the random-phase screen theory.

The Structure of Motives for Moving: A Multidimensional Model of Residential Mobility

A three-dimensional conceptual model of residential mobility for owner-occupiers is proposed using the methods of facet theory (after Guttman). Three conceptual dimensions (facets) of buyers' reasons for moving are defined, based on the contribution of job-related motives, family-related motives and housing values. The conceptual model is tested by a multivariate statistical analysis (smallest space analysis) of a national sample of 1052 house purchasers. Facet theory permits the formulation of hypotheses about partitions in an n-dimensional space divided into clearly defined regions such that the model can literally be reconstructed in that space. Thus empirically verified, the model can be used to generate a typology of fourteen distinct mover types, and profiles are presented of their search behaviour and housing outcomes. The methods and findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to and extension of a behavioural approach to residential mobility.

Facet theory applied to the construction and validation of the Aachen Aphasia Test

The linguistic performance of 120 aphasic patients of the four standard syndromes assessed by the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT) is analyzed by a nonmetric (ordinal) multidimensional scaling procedure (Smallest Space Analysis, SSA1). The linguistic structure of the test items is characterized within the framework of L. Guttman's facet theory. Three systematic components (facets) are discerned: linguistic modality, unit, and regularity. Properties of the facets as well as their relations are assessed and tested empirically by analyzing the interrelations among different items or sets of items. The spatial configurations obtained by the scaling procedure fit only partially the expectations derived from the facet-theory model. The modality facet was found to have a strong overriding influence on the aphasic test performance. The facets unit and regularity were only found for the most rigorously designed subtests, Written Language and Comprehension. The results suggest the introduction of a new combined facet linguistic complexity which reflects the dependency of the facets regularity and unit.

The potential of facet theory for applied social psychology

In order to illustrate a relatively new approach to research methods and data analysis, most commonly referred to as facet theory (Gratch, 1973), the present paper describes three examples of the approach in use. The range of data types and variety of modes of analysis which can be accommodated by this approach are exemplified, starting with a simple example dealing with energy conservation in universities, then moving on to examine differences between prisoners and staff in their evaluation of prison buildings, and finally considering the more complex methodological issues involved in establishing the structure of housing satisfaction. However, whilst this paper essentially concerns research procedures, especially the use of multivariate statistics, I wish to make the case that the facet approach holds particular potential for applied social psychology.

Facet Approach to Applied Research

The paper outlines the contribution of facet theory to applied psychological research. This contribution is due to the ability of facet theory to define problems and the solutions to them in terms relevant to those who wish to make practical use of the research findings. The use of facet theory in applied research is illustrated through three examples.

Meaning in post-modern architecture: An examination using the multiple sorting task

The relevance of the multiple sorting task as a research tactic for the empirical study of environmental meaning is illustrated in the context of a specific study of Modern and Post-Modern architecture. The assumption of architectural critics that Post-Modern buildings are more meaningful to the general public than Modern buildings forms the basis for the research hypotheses of this study. Twenty-four buildings, ranging from Modern to Post-Modern are evaluated by 20 architects and 20 accountants whose responses are structured through a multiple sorting task. The sorting data are interpreted in terms of regional analyses of multi-dimensional scaling structures, following the general principles of Facet Theory. These results suggest that (1) architects and accountants do employ different sets of criteria (different codes, in effect) for evaluating buildings, and yet (2) Post-Modern buildings (despite their architects' intentions of relating their designs to a popular code) are not perceived by the accountants as distinct from Modern buildings. The particular strengths of the multiple sorting task as a research tactic for this and other studies of environmental meaning are discussed and summarized.

A facet structure for nurses' evaluations of ward designs

In order to provide an understanding of the contribution made by the design of hospital wards to the well‐being of nurses at work a model is proposed for the structure of ward evaluations. Use is made of facet theory to generate the model. A questionnaire is developed on the basis of the model by combining elements of the facets to create the questions. The model also predicts a pattern of correlations between questionnaire items on the basis of the facet elements of which they are composed. The predicted structure contains a facet concerning levels of interaction, which is axial to two further facets. One of these, dealing with the objects of the nurses' interaction, plays a polarizing role, being modulated by the third facet which concerns whether the object being interacted with provides patient care and comfort directly or indirectly. Taken together the three facets provide the hypothesis of a cylindrex for nurses' evaluations.Clear empirical evidence for the cylindrex is provided as a result of a three‐dimensional smallest space analysis carried out on the responses given by 1921 nurses in 144 wards in 23 hospitals throughout England, to a 93 item questionnaire developed as the result of a series of three pilot questionnaires. The implications of the cylindrex for future research and the development of design proposals are discussed.

The Multivariate Structure Of Design Evaluation: A Cylindrex of Nurses' Conceptualizations.

It is argued that facet theory provides an appropriate framework for examining the structure of the psychological evaluation of building designs. By means of a mapping sentence, a definitional system is provided for the universe of evaluations by nurses of the design and layout of the wards on which they work. A rationale is provided both for the facets and their elements within the mapping sentence, and for their anticipated role within an empirical structure. The structure predicted contains a facet concerning levels of interaction, which is axial to two further facets. One of these, dealing with the object of the nurses' interaction, plays a polarizing role, being modulated by the third facet, which concerns whether the object being interacted with provides patient care and comfort directly or indirectly. Taken together the three facets provide the hypothesis of a cylindrex for nurses' evaluations. Clear empirical evidence for the cylindrex is provided as a result of a three-dimensional smallest-space analysis carried out on the responses given by 1921 nurses in 144 wards in 23 hospitals throughout England to a 93-item questionnaire developed as the result of a series of three pilot questionnaires. The implications of the cylindrex for future research and the development of design proposals are discussed.

"The Good Citizen" As Viewed by Israeli Adolescents

The concept citizenship is probably one of most complex political concepts. In its narrow sense it usually refers to an individual's attitudes, evaluations, and behavior toward political objects. In other words, it expresses individual's familiarity with political system, his internalization of basic values of political culture, and his conception of himself in relationship to system. In its broader sense, concept includes relationships to objects that are not necessarily political in nature. Citizenship can refer to whole of an individual's obligations to his fellow men and to society in which he lives.' It includes, for example, his relationship to his family and place of work as well as to political figures. With respect to political figures, individual relates not to role performance alone but also to such general characteristics as honesty, tolerance, and fairness. This study treats concept of citizenship in its broader sense and has a twofold purpose: first, to propose a model based upon Guttman's facet theory for conceptual analysis of role and second, to examine concept of the good citizen as perceived by Israeli adolescents.2

Toward a facet theory of a sequential order of societal needs

Toward a facet theory of a sequential order of societal needs

Procrustean analysis of matrices with different row order

Procrustean analysis is extended here to the case where matrices have different row order. Using a definition system in the sense of facet theory, fitting transformations are determined for the set of centroids that represent common substantive equivalence classes of all or some matrices. The resulting operators are used to transform the original matrices. An index, δ, which is consistent with this approach expresses the goodness of fit.

マス・メディアの機能研究への多次元尺度構成法の適用

This study was purposed to examine the new possibility of an application of Multidimensional Scaling Method to the study of mass media function. We considered television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and movies as six important media of mass communication, and analysed how they function and gratify various“needs”in our daily life. Facet Theory by Guttman was used to construct a certain psychological space of the individual. MDSCAL produced some interesting results, and we discussed about the relationship and inter-changability of these six media.

Speckle scatter, affine geometry, and tilt topology

Some simple observations on speckle patterns are described. Experiments on scatter surfaces have shown that linear surface displacements can be related to a mirror facet theory, ray and intensity considerations, affine geometry, and the free vector. Surface tilts are related to phase variations, differential topology, and tangent planes. These effects can be isolated with a lens system, or combined to give a stationary speckle pattern, similar to the effect given by Fermat's principle.