Comparison Dimensions and Similarity: Addressing Individual Heterogeneity

Arbeitspapier

How many comparison dimensions individuals consider when they are asked to judge how similar two different objects are? I address individual heterogeneity in the number of comparison dimensions with data from a laboratory experiment. I estimate the smallest number of dimensions such that objects may be represented in space where distance corresponds to similarity. I find that the mean smallest number of dimensions in real data is one standard deviation smaller than in randomly simulated data. Furthermore, I find that individuals who find the objects relatively similar to each other are also the ones who implicitly consider fewer dimensions.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 12355

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
• Subject: multidimensional scaling ; similarity ; latent dimensions ; dimensionality

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Jelnov, Pavel
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2019

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/202701
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET