Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) and its Utility in Various Psychological Domains

Validity is of particular importance in test development. The aim of this paper is to briefly introduce the multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a method of determining construct validity, to assess its outputs, to compare it with other similar methods, and to show the utility of this method in different domains of psychology. Multidimensional scaling was performed on 419 students of Tehran state universities (Tehran, Amir Kabir, and Allameh Tabataba’i universities) who were selected randomly to investigate the efficacy of Post-Critical Beliefs (religious beliefs) scale. The implementation of multidimensional scaling showed the existence of two dimensions and confirmed the construct validity of the Post-Critical Belief scale. Generally speaking, multidimensional scaling is a suitable technique for determining the validity of psychological instruments that are used to evaluate individuals’ characteristics based on different dimensions.