Lawrence E. Jones

Salience, similes, and the asymmetry of similarity

Abstract Models of similarity have traditionally assumed that the similarity relation is symmetrical. However, when reversed, similarity statements frequently have different properties from those of the original. Previous attempts to account for the asymmetry of similarity have focused only on literal comparisons, resulting in a tendency to underestimate the degree of asymmetry in nonliteral comparisons (i.e., similes). A model of similarity is proposed to account for the varying degrees of asymmetry found in all kinds of natural language comparisons. In this model, asymmetry is attributed to an imbalance in the salience of the shared attributes. Studies are reported which test key aspects of the model. The results appear to provide converging evidence for the claim that asymmetry of similarity is due at least in part to salience imbalance.

Multidimensional Models of Social Perception, Cognition, and Behavior

A common assumption of social psychological theo ries is that interpersonal behavior is mediated by struc tured cognitive representations of self and others, in teraction episodes, interpersonal roles and relation ships, group goals and tasks, as well as more general social environments and situations. A second basic theoretical assumption is that both individual adjust ment and group effectiveness depend on some degree of consensus and stability in conceptions of these do mains; thus, investigation of communalities and differ ences in perception and structuring of social stimuli is an important prerequisite for prediction of both indi vidual differences and intraindividual consistency in social behavior. The present paper reviews theoretical, empirical and methodological work that is relevant to these issues, with an emphasis on research that has employed mul tidimensional scaling, clustering techniques, and re lated multivariate methods to investigate problems in social cognition. Work in three major areas is re viewed : (1) interpersonal perception and attraction in intact groups; (2) perception of political and fictional figures; and (3) perception of social roles, relation ships, and situations. For each area, one or more ex emplary studies are discussed, related work is cited, and relevant theoretical and methodological issues are raised.

What's in a face: Individual differences in face perception

Abstract White and black females judged the similarity of all pairs of white and black male faces. An individual difference multidimensional scaling analysis of the similarity judgments indicated that most of the dimensions underlying the perceptions of male faces involved affective (honest, tense, attractive) characteristics rather than simple physical features (eye width, mouth height). The major physical dimension was face shape (long vs. wide). The dimensions were similar for black and white subjects. An individual difference hypothesis that we pay attention to those characteristics that we possess was partially confirmed.

The Effects Of Random Error And Subsampling Of Dimensions On Recovery Of Configurations By Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling.

Similarity judgments of three-dimensional stimuli were simulated, with the hypothetical subject attending to only some dimensions of stimulus variation (i.e., “subsampling”) on each trial. Recovery of the stimulus configuration by non-metric multidimensional scaling was investigated as a function of subsampling, the amount of random error in the judgments, and the number of stimuli being scaled.It was found that: (1) dimensions to which the subject often attends were well recovered even when dimensions seldom attended to were not, and (2) measures of recovery based on interpoint distances were inadequate. Several previous Monte Carlo studies were evaluated in light of the results.

Multidimensional scaling of derived dissimilarities

In past research, a matrix of squared profile distances, δ, has sometimes been multidimensionally scaled rather than the matrix of original dissimilarities, D. It is thought that scaling solutions derived from δ have lower stress and enhanced interpretability when applied to data generated by sorting. Two experiments were performed to investigate the consequences of the delta transformation. First, random numbers resembling data collected by the method of sorting were simulated. Scaling solutions derived from δ matrices invariably had lower stress than solutions computed from the associated D matrices. This result suggests that the delta transformation may reduce stress irrespective of any change in interpretability. Simulated dissimilarity matrices were then generated from known stimulus configurations. It was found that: (1) nonmetric multidimensional scaling solutions for δ matrices had relatively lower stress; but under low error conditions (2) solution based on D were more closely related to the underlying configurations; and (3) determination of dimensionality by inspection of the stress plot was somewhat more difficult for solutions based on δ. These results can be understood by observing that the delta transformation tends to increase the size of large distances in the derived configurations relative to small distances.

A semantic differential for facial attribution: The face differential

Four groups of 10 subjects each (black males, black females, white males, and white females) associated a total of 2,400 personality descriptive adjectives to slides of 20 black and white male faces. Adjectives were grouped into synonym classes, and important adjective groups and their antonyms were selected on the basis of: (a) frequency of association; (b) judged relevance of adjective to faces; (c) judged commonness of opposite; and (d) judged commonness of adjective. This procedure was conducted for the whole group of 40 subjects by one investigator and for each of the four subgroups by another investigator. The two adjective lists were compared, and a final set of 27 bipolar adjective scales was selected as appropriate for the study of personality attributions to faces. Race and sex differences in the use of these adjectives were explored.

A Cross-Cultural Study of the Attribution of Personological Characteristics As a Function of Facial Perception

The extensive literature on faces alone attests to their importance. However, it is somewhat surprising that very little research has been concerned with the major objectives of this investigation. In particlular, identifying the salient personological characteristics attributed to faces, and examinign, systematically, individual differences in the perception and attribution of important personality characteristics. Not only are personality traits readily attributed to various sorts of faces, but such judgments have shown a high degree of agreement (Secord, 1958; Brunswik, 1956). Judgments of intelligence from photographs (Brunswik, 1956) reveal high inter-rater reliability, as do &dquo;cuteness&dquo; judgments (Brooks & Hochberg, 1960) of schematized baby’s faces. The major individual difference variables that have emerged in the person perception literature have been race, sex and the amount of prejudice of the judge. A study by Parrott & Saiia (1972) in which both males and females (half black, half white) were asked to rate opposite sex black and white photos on selected semantic differential-type scales concerned itself with heterosexual perception. A sex by race interaction was obtained for such scales

SINDSCAL source weight transformations are not always necessary or desirable: reply to Hodgkinson

Hodgkinson (1998) argues that we should have transformed the SINDSCAL source weights we used for an analysis presented on page 15 of our paper on the judgement of HIV cases (Irwin, Jones, and Mundo, 1996). In this reply we present theoretical and empirical arguments for why we did not transform the weights. Our statements are presented in the context of a more general discussion of how source weights should be interpreted and used.