A prediction study in perceptual and evaluative mapping

The study tests the ability of MDS model to predict individual preferences for new items introduced into a calibration-type similarities space. Towards this a small scale experiment involving various types of similarities and preference judgments was conducted. The results of the study show that the ideal point model fails to account for subjects' preference rankings of test items. The report discusses the study results and offers directions for future research. The author would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Professor Paul E. Green in various phases of the project.