Abstract
Thirty-two adults judged which two of three figures were most alike and also which two were most different. The figures differed in shape and internal design. Twenty-four different triads of figures were presented. Twelve Ss significantly preferred shape, 10 preferred internal design, and the remainder had no preference. However, only 4% of the total 768 “most different” judgments indicated a failure to consider both dimensions, indicating that the dimensions were available whether preferred or not. The elicitation of both same and different judgments is discussed as a means whereby dimension “availability” and dimension “preference”—ordinarily confounded in multidimensional sorting tasks—can be distinguished from one another.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
BRIAN, C. R., & GOODENOUGH, F. L. The relative potency of color and form perception at various ages. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1929, 12, 197–213.
CORAH, N. L., & GROSS, J. B. Hue, brightness, and saturation variables in color-form matching. Child Development, 1967, 38, 137–142.
MITLER, M. M., & HARRIS, L. Dimension preference and performance on a series of concept identification tasks in kindergarten, first-grade, and third-grade children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1969, 7, 374–384.
HARRIS, L., MITLER, M. M. & SCHALLER, M. J. The effects of stimulus type on performance in a color-form sorting task with preschool, kindergarten, first-grade, and third-grade children. Child Development, 1970, 41, 177–191.
WITKIN, H. A., DYK, R. B., FATERSON, H. F., GOODENOUGH, D. R., & KARP, S. A. Psychological differentiation. New York: Wiley, 1962.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harris, L., Dziadosz, G. Adults’ performance on a multidimensional sorting task for the dimensions of “shape” and “internal design”. Psychon Sci 25, 341–343 (1971). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335899
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335899