Perception of the loneliness

The aim of this research was to study participants perception of loneliness. More specifically we were interested on the perception of the different kind of persons who can feel alone, and in the cognitive dimensions used by judges to differentiate between such persons. In a first study the most representative types of persons who usually feel alone and the characteristics associated to them were selected. In a second study, a sample of 269 male and female college students were asked to evaluate the similarity between the different types of persons presented and were asked to rate them on several bipolar scales, multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used in order to obtain a graphical representation of the perceptions of the different kind of people who can feel alone as well as the underlying dimensions of these perceptions. Cluster analysis was also used. Results showed that two dimensions underlied perceptions of persons who can feel alone: first dimension was related to person perceived physical atracttive and wether the loneliness situation was choosen or imposed; second dimension was related to person's socioeconomic status and to the fact of having or not a dating relationship. The results are discussed from a psychosocial perspective.