Facet Theory

Facet Theory: Searching for structure in complex social, cultural & psychological phenomena
Edited by Antonio Roazzi, Bruno Campello de Souza, Wolfgang Bilsky. – Recife: Editora UFPE, 2015.
Facet Theory (FT) is a meta-theory for designing structural and other theories in the behavioral sciences. Basic assumptions of FT are that social and behavioral concepts are complex constructs and that their study, therefore, requires a systematic design for defining observations and for examining the correspondence between the observations and the theory.  Because such a definitional design should facilitate the evaluation of systematic relations between the data and the theory, it should lead to cumulative results. In the above sense, FT is a systematic approach for coordinating theory and research. 
FT comprises the universe of observations, the population of respondents, and the range of observations. It stratifies these universes by facets and integrates the design by means of a mapping sentence which guides the construction of items and the formulation of hypotheses. Finally, particular multivariate data analysis methods (such as SSA, POSAC, MSA) have been developed to test these hypotheses.
Facet Theory has been successfully applied to a large number of research areas where it has significantly contributed to the discovery and refinement of empirical laws.
Our aims in this book are:
1) To review recent and innovative research results arising from the application of the Facet Theory approach to complex social and psychological issues;
2) To present methodological advances in comparative studies and applications of Similarity Structure Analysis (SSA), Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis (MSA), Factor Analysis (FA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Partial Order Scalogram Analysis (POSAC), and other multivariate procedures and techniques related to FT;
3) To present theoretical advances in Facet Theory and related approaches;
4) To present new reflections on the role of Facet Theory in modern science and in the emergence of new scientific paradigms.

Attili, G., Roazzi, A., & Toni, A., Gianfelice, S. di (2011). Children’s family drawings and attachment: A multidimensional scaling approach to study Internal Working Models. In: Y. Fisher & I. A. Friedman (Eds.), New horizons For Facet Theory: Searching for Structure in Content Spaces and Measurement (pp. 111-122). Israel: FTA Publications.  DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3947.0167
The present study was designed to address this point by scoring family drawings of 83 5 to 9 olds whose contemporary expectations related to attachment figures were assessed by Bowlby’s SAT. The drawing attachment-based coding scheme included categories adapted from the pioneer work by Kaplan and Main (1986). By using SSA and the External Variables as Points Technique, many drawings’ features appeared to relate to attachment typologies. The SSA Plot showed a structure based on an axial partitioning of the space having secure and ambivalent groups one on the opposite site of the other one, each having drawings’ specific characteristics. Secure children’s drawings were characterized by the presence of a floor under figures’ feet and by a high proportion between family members. In ambivalent children’s drawings appeared floating figures who were small in their size The avoidant group located in the middle between the previous two groups with a set of drawings’ features either specific (such as big and encapsulated figures, often with barriers in between, lack of body’s parts) either related with secure and ambivalent children’s drawings’ items. Finally, the findings will be discussed in terms of the uses of family drawings to evaluate internal working models on which children’s attachment behaviour is based and their use in clinical psychology and research.

Este artigo está dividido em duas partes. Na primeira, é apresentada e discutida a situação da pesquisa básica em psicologia cognitiva no contexto internacional e suas críticas. É examinado também o contexto histórico do surgimento e estabelecimento da psicologia cognitiva através de uma análise crítica do seu paradigma em oposição ao behaviorismo, como também da emergência de um novo paradigma no quadro internacional. Na segunda parte, antes de tudo, discute-se a necessidade de considerar a influência da psicologia cognitiva e seu novo paradigma na psicologia social. Em seguida, esta influência é exemplificada a partir das pesquisas em representação social, enfatizando-se a necessidade cada vez mais importante de se integrar aspectos teóricos e metodológicos na pesquisa. No contexto desta discussão, apresenta-se, à guisa de exemplo, uma investigação sobre satisfação escolar baseada na Teoria da Facetas (uma metodologia de investigação que verdadeiramente procura integrar teoria, planejamento e análise dos dados). Enfim, na tentativa de superar dicotomias, como teoria-método, conceitos-procedimentos, etc., sugere-se um tipo de integração entre métodos de investigação quantitativos e métodos qualitativos.

Souza, M. G. T. C., Roazzi, A., & Souza, B.C. De (2011). When killing is a legitimate course of action: A multidimensional investigation into the culture of honor as an explanation for homicides in northeastern Brazil. In: Y. Fisher & I. A. Friedman (Eds.), New Horizons For Facet Theory: Searching for Structure in Content Spaces and Measurement (pp. 85-98). Israel: FTA Publications.
ABSTRACT: In the current paper, socioeconomic frustration, decision-making processes, emotional attachment, testosterone, moral development, moral values, and motivations were investigated in a mixed sample of 160 adult Brazilian men with and without criminal history. The resulting data was studied using SSA techniques and Facet Theory, identifying patterns suggesting that, for the sample, homicide does not stem from violence or criminality in general and that, psychosocially, it is a legitimate course of action and not a crime per se. Finally, a brief discussion is made of the implications of the findings.