ABSTRACT
Thurstone’s theory of comparative judgment is the first to which the theory of conjoint measurement will be applied. This is fitting, if only because Thurstone’s theory is now something of a classic within psychology. Few theories endure within psychology, but interest in Thurstone’s theory has been fairly high since it was first proposed in a set of papers published in 1927 (see Thurstone, 1927a, b, c, and d). Its aim was to explain pair comparison judgments in psychophysics and Luce (1977) has given a recent review of its success in that area. However, Thurstone was keen to apply the theory to the measurement of attitudes and this quickly became the major area of its application. A considerable number of attitude “measurement scales” were consequently constructed (see Shaw & Wright, 1967, for a collection). However, very little foundational research was done into its suitability in this area. Fortunately, the theory of conjoint measurement provides a means of remedying that deficiency.
