A comparison of perceptions for textile fibers of womens' college students and textile technical experts was made. The similarity ratings of 10 textile fibers were subjected to a multidimensional scaling analysis ; two dimensions provided the most appropriate solution for the students' data, three dimensions for the textile technical experts' data.
Plot of the fibers in the dimensional configurations indicated that three clusters ; (Wool, Acrylic), (Nylon, Vinylon, Polyester, Rayon, Acetate), (Cotton, Flax, Silk) were differentiated by the dimensions in case of the students, while four clusters ; (Wool, Acrylic), (Flax, Cotton, Vinylon), (Rayon, Acetate), (Polyester, Silk, Nylon) in case of textile technical experts.
From the locations of the fibers in the dimensional space and the projections of perceived fiber properties on the space, the students' two dimensions were interpreted as natural versus chemical fibers, warm versus cool fibers, the experts' three dimensions were did as cellulosic versus noncellulosic fibers, staple versus filament fibers, strong versus weak fibers in mechanical properties.
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