The stability of the factorial pattern of aircrew classification tests in four analyses

This study consists of four factor analyses of the Army Air Forces Aircrew Classification Batteries. The first was an analysis of the 1945 wartime battery, while the other three were analyses of the 1947 postwar battery, consisting of essentially the same variables, but using different samples. Eleven factors were found which had been identified and reported in previous analyses. An additional factor, possibly an artifact, was identified as an age-education doublet. The only factor which differed significantly in the analyses was pilot or flying interest. These factor analyses show that the factorial content of the tests remains quite similar in both wartime and postwar populations.The data reported in this study were collected as part of the United States Air Force Human Resources Research and Development Program and described in Research Bulletin 52-16. The opinions or conclusions contained in this report are those of the authors. They are not to be construed as reflecting the view or indorsement of the Department of the Air Force.     

Adolescent attachment in Nepal: Testing the factorial validity of two scales

Attachment theory is an important framework in the psychology of human development and has direct relevance to the study of adolescence. The cross-cultural validity of attachment constructs and measures has been the subject of lively debate among experts. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the present study tested the factor structure of the Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire and the Adolescent Unresolved Attachment Questionnaire in a sample of 279 Nepali adolescents. The hypothesised models had a good fit and further tests established the measurement invariance of the two instruments. The cross-cultural validity of the measures was supported but areas of cultural variation were also highlighted.     

Evaluating the impact of partial factorial invariance on selection in two populations

Studies of factorial invariance examine whether a common factor model holds across multiple populations with identical parameter values. Partial factorial invariance exists when some, but not all, parameters are invariant. The literature on factorial invariance is unclear about what should be done if partial invariance is found. One approach to this problem evaluates the impact of partial invariance on accuracy of selection on the basis of a composite of the measures whose factor structure is being studied. Assuming a single-factor model holds, accuracy of selection using the composite is evaluated under varying degrees of partial invariance. A variety of examples are presented with discussion of extensions and limitations.     

Cluster analyses of two acoustic confusion matrices

Three methods of cluster analysis are used to illustrate two acoustic confusion matrices. It is shown how the methods complement each other and, together, “explain” the large, unwieldy matrices.     

A synthesis of two factor analyses of intermediate algebra

A battery of 18 tests of intermediate algebra and 20 reference tests was administered to two successive second-year algebra classes. Each battery was separately factor analyzed by Thurstone methods, and the two analyses were synthesized by the Tucker method. The five congruent factors obtained were identified as: Verbal Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Algebraic Manipulative Skill, Number Ability, and Adaptability to a New Task.This paper is a condensation of a thesis. The work was begun while the author was a Psychometrics Fellow of the Educational Testing Service. The work was further supported by Contract N6onr-270-20 of the Office of Naval Research and by Grant NSF G-642 of the National Science Foundation. The writer is indebted to Professors Harold Gulliksen and Ledyard R Tucker for their guidance throughout this study.     

Factor analyses of two 'attitude toward gender role' questionnaire

Two questionnaires which purport to assess attitudes toward gender role, the Maferr Inventory of Feminine Values and the Sex Stereotype Questionnaire, were submitted to a factor analysis. While each analysis of the five response set items yielded interpretable factors with unequivocal item scores, the obtained factors are not consistent with the a priori assignment of items to "groupings" suggested by the manuals for these instruments. The implications of using questionnaires with questionable psychometric properties is discussed.     

Extensions of factorial solutions

A method is developed for extending any type of factor solution to new tests. The theoretical basis for this approximating scheme is thoroughly investigated, and then a simplification in the technique is introduced for practical purposes. An example is presented which illustrates the procedure of extending a factor solution to three new tests simultaneously.     

Comparison of two aggression inventories

Two recently developed questionnaire measures of aggression, the Aggression Questionnaire [Buss and Perry (1992; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63:452–459]; and the Aggression Inventory [Gladue (1991a); Psychological Reports 68:675–684], were administered to a British sample (N=320) of men and women undergraduates. Both questionnaires contain subscales measuring physical and verbal aggression; the other scales of the Aggression Questionnaire measure anger and hostility, and those of the Aggression Inventory measure impulsiveness and avoidance of aggression. The factor structure of scales were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. The interrelations of the subscales were calculated in both cases: anger was independently related to verbal and physical aggression and to hostility on the Aggression Questionnaire; impulsivity, and verbal and physical aggression were associated on the Aggression Inventory. Sex differences were largest on the two physical subscales, of lesser magnitude but still significantly different for the two verbal subscales, but absent for anger and hostility. This supports the hypothesis that sex differences in aggression are larger for more escalated forms of aggression. The physical and verbal subscales of the two questionnaires were each highly correlated with one another and the impulsive subscale of the Aggression Inventory highly correlated with the anger subscale of the Aggresion Questionnaire. Thus, two aggression questionnaires developed in the US not only produce similar associations between subscales and sex differences among a British undergraduate sample, but also show high correlations between their respective scales. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A factorial analysis of olfaction

Twenty-one reagents were rated on a pleasantness scale by 182 subjects. The tetrachoric correlation coefficients were determined for the variables. The correlation matrix thus obtained was subjected to a Thurstone analysis which gave rise to a 6-dimensional structure. Two of these were not clear-cut, and the last one appeared to be a residual factor. One factor, the benzene-ketone, revealed the chemical property of unsaturation and the physiological quality of possible trigeminal stimulation. The other two factors were marked by the presence of oxygen and nitrogen, respectively, and were tentatively labelled as a plant factor and an animal factor accordingly. The intercorrelations of the primaries are high.The author wishes to express his gratitude to Professor L. L. Thurstone for his kindness in providing facilities which made this study possible and for his guidance on the factorial problem; to Doctor T. G. Andrews for his many invaluable assistances and technical advice on the experimental aspect of this problem; to Miss Florence Brown for her editorial assistance; and to Mrs. Virginia Brown for her generous assistance on the computational procedures.     

Notes on factorial invariance

Lawley's selection theorem is applied to subpopulations derived from a parent in which the classical factor model holds for a specified set of variables. The results show that there exists an invariant factor pattern matrix that describes the regression of observed on factor variables in every subpopulation derivable by selection from the parent, given that selection does not occur directly on the observable variables and does not reduce the rank of the system. However, such a factor pattern matrix is not unique, which in turn implies that if a simple structure factor pattern matrix can be satisfactorily determined in one such subpopulation the same simple structure can be found in any subpopulation derivable by selection. The implications of these results for parallel proportional profiles and factor matching techniques are discussed.     

The algebra of factorial indeterminancy

Certain properties and consequences of factor indeterminancy are deduced from an orthogonal transformation derived by Ledermann [5]. The first deduction is the matrix of cosines between maximally distinct factor axes which represent the same factor solution. This result is used to investigate the indeterminancy of factor extensions.     

The geometry of factorial indeterminancy

TheN-dimensional geometry of a Spearman-Thurstone factor solution reveals two sources for the indeterminancy of factor scores: indeterminancy of total factor space and a rotational indeterminancy within a given total factor space. The analytical papers of Ledermann [4] and Guttman [2] on indeterminancy of factor scores are related to these findings and a simple vector model is developed to reveal the properties of rotational indeterminancy. The significance of factor-score indeterminancy is discussed in light of these findings.     

A factorial study of temperament

The theory is advanced that personality factors obtained in the first order may often represent combinations of temperament traits that occur in the experimental population. Under these circumstances an investigation of the second order represents a purification process and yields factors which represent the more basic or pervasive characteristics of the original behavior items included in the factorial study. These second-order factors can be obtained directly in the first order by a careful selection of the variables which enter into the analysis. A second-order analysis was undertaken of the nine factors inherent in three of J. P. Guilford's inventories, and four clearly interpretable second-order factors were obtained. Three of these factors were obtained directly in the first order in a new factorial study of twenty-two behavior items. Attention is drawn to the similarities between these factors and traits of temperament postulated by an independent investigator.This paper abstracts portions of the writer's Ph.D. dissertation.