Revisiting the factor structure of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory

The original Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, used to measure innovative (as opposed to adaptive) individual cognitive styles, has been reported to have three factors: Sufficiency of Originality, Efficiency, and Rule/Group Conformity. In exploring the construct validity of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, findings from a 2003 study by Im, Hu, and Toh showed the existence of two subdimensions of the Sufficiency of Originality factor-Idea Generation and Preference for Change. In this study, using a sample of 356 household participants, with an average age of 56.0 yr. (SD = 14.0), average income of dollar 39,700 (SD = dollar 19,200), and average of 15.0 yr. of education (SD = 2), from the Arkansas Household Research Panel, we conducted factor analyses. The results specific to our selected sample indicate that a four-factor model recognizing the two subdimensions of Sufficiency of Originality has a better fit than the original three-factor model.