Further evidence on 16 PF distortion scales

Norms were obtained on a nationally representative sample of 4830 adult men and women for two empirically developed faking indices for Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) by Winder, Karson, and O'Dell (1975). These data provided convincing evidence that the cutoff suggested in the original work for the faking good scale was far too liberal and would routinely classify more than half of all 16 PF protocols as invalid. The faking bad cutoff appeared to be approximately correct. The correlations of the faking scales with the 16 PF primary factors were highly congruent with those reported in the development study and provided additional validity evidence for the two indices. Both indices were found to be sufficiently reliable to permit adjustments to be made in the primary trait scales when distortion is above average.     

When is being known or adored by romantic partners most beneficial? Self-perceptions, relationship length, and responses to partner's verifying and enhancing appraisals

An experiment tested the hypothesis that relationship length moderates preferences for both verifying and enhancing appraisals from romantic partners, particularly for people with negative self-perceptions. One hundred and three romantically involved couples participated in this research. Participants with both negative and positive self-perceptions were randomly assigned to receive either verifying or enhancing feedback ostensibly created through comparison of their self-ratings and their partner's appraisals. The critical test was for those with negative self-ratings who received verifying feedback. For these participants, results revealed that those in longer relationships felt their partners were seeing the best in them more than did those in shorter relationships, whereas the opposite pattern of results was observed for those who were enhanced. Individuals with negative self-ratings who were verified also reported greater feelings of intimacy in the relationship when in long-term relationships. The importance of relationship length in moderating responses to partner's appraisals is discussed.     

The impact of workaholism on personal relationships

Workaholism involves a reluctance to disengage from work that is evidenced by a tendency to work or think about work anytime and anywhere. Conceptual links made with the transactional model of stress suggest that workaholics focus on work at the expense of personal relationships. The present research tested the proposition that workaholics deny their workaholism and experience greater disturbances in close relationships than do non-workaholics. In addition to workers' own self-ratings, ratings from their partner or spouse were also obtained. Workaholics' ratings of their levels of enjoyment were not significantly different from their partners' ratings, but their self-ratings of drive were significantly higher than partners' ratings. Workaholic and non-workaholic dyads reported similar levels of relationship adjustment. The data indicated that workaholics' self-ratings of their level of workaholism were similar to the ratings provided by their spouse/partner, and that satisfaction with their personal relationship (with their spouse or partner) was minimally affected by workaholism. These findings were replicated 6 months after the first data collection, and demonstrated stability across time. The data suggest that intimate relationships may act as stress buffers for workaholics. Implications are discussed in terms of the transactional model of stress and practices for guidance counsellors.     

Personality factors related to quantitative estimation skill: confirmation and extension

The relationships of two measures of quantitative estimation skill, computational estimation and numerosity estimation, were examined with the 16 PF Global Factors corresponding to the Big Five personality dimensions in a sample of 80 college students. Correlations of Computational Estimation with the 16 PF scores confirmed findings from a previous study which used the NEO-Five Factor Inventory as a measure of the Big Five, specifically showing that Computational Estimation correlated significantly with the 16 PF's Independence factor. Numerosity Estimation did not correlate significantly with any of the 16 PF Global Factors or with any of the ability measures (Computational Estimation, SAT Verbal, SAT Mathematics, and self-rated mathematics ability) used in the study.     

Personality correlates of life values

The present study sought to determine whether significant relationships exist between life value preferences and personality traits and to describe the nature of any relationships identified. Administered to 310 undergraduate and graduate students were the 16 PF personality inventory and a 55-item Life Values Inventory which assessed values governing life styles and orientations. A factor analysis of the Life Values Inventory resulted in the identification of 14 life values dimensions. Factor scores for these 14 dimensions were then employed in a canonical analysis and a factor analysis with the 16 PF scores. The canonical analysis yielded results significant at the .001 level. The factor analysis yielded 10 factors, many of which displayed shared common-factor variance between Life Values and 16 PF variables. The interpretation of that shared variance identified several personality correlates of life values that suggested causal and developmental interactions of some value in describing and explaining human behavior.     

Sustaining fantasies and the 16 PF

This study examined the relationships between the Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ) and the 16 PF for 63 college students. The questionnaire is a self-report measure of characteristic fantasies used to reduce negative affect and maintain self-esteem. High scores on the fantasy scales having to do with power and revenge, death and illness, withdrawal and protection, and restitution, and on the scales measuring negative affect and the inability to produce comforting images were all associated with 16 PF indications of psychological distress.     

College major and career choice: A retest of Holland's theory

In an effort to examine whether the previously established relationship between vocational choice and self-ratings on Holland's personality stereotypes among college freshmen would be strengthened with a sample of male college seniors, 109 subjects, sampled on the basis of major field choice, completed a questionnaire to select career stereotypes which described them best. The relationship between self-ratings and academic major was also to be examined. Significant relationships were obtained for four stereotypes (realistic, conventional, enterprising, and artistic) on the basis of both major and vocational choice, although significant stereotypes were not identical in each. Three of these significant relationships based on vocational choice matched those obtained previously. An additional finding suggested that vocational choice was slightly more valid than major field as a basis for utilizing this technique. The more restricted class sample emphasized did not, however, produce a more substantial relationship between self-ratings and occupational choice as expected.     

Does initial behavior predict our physical fitness and health 18 years later?

ObjectivesThe aim of the present paper was, first, to analyze a four level biopsychosocial model to examine the interaction of various initial health behaviors and, second, their consequences with respect to the course of physical fitness (PF) and health of adults over the course of 18 years.DesignLongitudinal study based on medical examinations and self-ratings.MethodPath analysis along with latent growth curve analysis was based on the German study about the relationship of physical activity, fitness and health (1992–2010). Data were collected from 495 adults (243 women) with an average age of 45.03 years in 1992 (SD = 7.45). Participants were randomly selected from the official registers of local residents' registration offices in the community of Bad Schönborn.ResultsFor the mean PF and health levels in 1992, direct and indirect influences were shown on four levels including socioeconomic status and immigration on the first level, outcome expectations and stress coping strategies on the second level as well as eating patterns and physical activity on the third level; furthermore, the course of PF and the course of health (from 1992 until 2010) were affected by the initial behaviors (physical activity and eating patterns in 1992); finally PF and health were not related.ConclusionsInfluences on four levels provided evidence for the complexity of PF and health (outcome level). Initial behaviors predicted current PF and health status, as well as their course. Thus, preventive measures should ensure that healthy behaviors are adopted early in adulthood.     

Personality factors underlying coronary prone behavior patterns among employees

The structure of the coronary prone behavior syndrome was mapped onto the personality trait domain with a sample of 222 adult men and women (mean age=31). The subjects completed the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) questionnaires and canonical correlation analysis was used to derive the structure of common variance between the two sets of scales. Coronary prone behavior, when viewed within personality source trait structure, can be thought of as heavily influenced by anxiety and extraversion. Additional regression analyses were conducted to analyze interdomain relationships among the 16PF and JAS.     

Personality scale and item correlates of WAIS abilities

A cross-validation methodology was employed to identify 16PF scales and items that significantly correlated with performance on the verbal, spatial, and memory/numerical abilities measured by the WAIS in a nonpsychiatric sample of 489 adults. For both men and women larger personality-ability correlations resulted in all analyses for verbal ability than for spatial or memory/numerical ability. The 16PF scale analysis offered results generally consistent with Cattell's research. The item analyses produced rather similar results for both sexes for verbal and spatial abilities. For verbal ability three major correlates resulted: communicative competence, equanimity/low anxiety, and a desire for times alone. Though few in number the item correlates of spatial ability suggested a dispassionate, nontemperamental style of interaction with one's environment as the major correlate. Memory/ numerical ability was somewhat independent of 16PF item responses for women, but was associated with fastidiousness in men. Possible cause-effect relationships were suggested and implications for future research discussed.     

A COMPARISON OF VALIDATION CRITERIA: OBJECTIVE VERSUS SUBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND SELF- VERSUS SUPERVISOR RATINGS

This study compared four criteria–two objective (production quantity and production quality) and two subjective (supervisor and self-ratings)–for their predictability in a criterion-related validity study. Results from this sample of 212 maintenance, mechanic, and field service workers replicated previous meta-analytic results with clerical workers (Nathan & Alexander, 1988); supervisor ratings and objective productivity indices provided similar and significant validity coefficients with a unit-weighted composite of five cognitive ability tests. The objective quality index and employee self-ratings resulted in near zero correlations with the same predictor battery. Additional productivity and quality objective criterion data were available for 2 years since the original validation study; no change in validity was found.     

THE RELATIONSHIP OF PERSONALITY VARIABLES TO ORGANIZATIONAL WITHDRAWAL

The relationship of personality variables to turnover and absenteeism was investigated using Cattell's 16 PF. Results indicated Factors G (conscientiousness) and Q₄ (anxiety) accounted for most of the predictable variance in both indices or organizational withdrawal. The Porter and Steers "polar" hypotheses for organizational withdrawal were not confirmed except for the anxiety factor. Results are discussed in terms of Lyons'(1972) conclusions on the relationship of absenteeism and turnover and the generality of findings to other samples of employees.     

Theoretical and methodological considerations of self-concept measurement

Partially replicating a study by Savin-Williams and Jaquish (1981), assessment of self-concept was explored by investigating the relationships of "presented" and "experienced" selves among seven adolescent girls participating in a team sport at a high school in Southern California. Behavior observations and self- and peer ratings were used to assess three dimensions of self (self-confidence, popularity, and athletic skill) and examine relationships between these multimethods of self-concept measurement. In general, significant correlations between behavior observations and peer ratings were found, but not between behavior observations and self-ratings, or peer and self-ratings. A behavioral approach to measuring self-concept across situations appeared to be more indicative of the multidimensionality of the self than sole reliance on self-report. The authors concluded that self-concept measurement requires increased sensitivity to definition of, saliency of, and vacillation within a domain, the reference group used for social comparison, and the impact of previous experience on current views of self.     

Sexual Aspects of Rorschach Administration

The factor structure of the items of the 1962 16PF Form A was examined on a sample of 499 air traffic controllers. It was found that the test does indeed measure the primary factors it purports to measure although several of the factors found did not correspond well with the ideal pattern to be expected with the 16PF on this special, highly selected sample of American males. The results were not as discouraging to the 16PF user as would be indicated by other recent studies which shared certain methodological shortcomings.     

Personality of male Anglican clergy in England: Revisited using the 16PF5

Cattell's latest version of the 16PF (16PF5) was completed by a random sample of 580 male Anglican clergy whose names and addresses were provided by the Church Commissioners' payroll. These data demonstrate a distinctive profile for clergy that differs significantly from that of the general male population on 12 personality factors. In addition, these data indicate agreement on seven scales, and disagreement on eight scales, between the profiles of male clergy as measured on the old study using the 16PF4 and this study using the new version.     

Personality correlates of a measure of honesty

It was hypothesized that screening applicants for theft proneness using the Reid Report might screen in more conservative, more rigid, and less creative candidates, in effect outweighing the benefits of the instrument. A sample of 179 applicants were administered the 16PF and the Reid Report. Sex, minority status, and type of position applied for were shown to be independent of performance on the Reid Report. Applicants passing the Reid Report were shown, at a statistically significant level, to have higher ego strength, to be less anxious, more apt to behave in socially desirable ways, less driven by id impulses, and less inhibited. Furthermore, applicants failing the Reid Report were shown to have total 16PF profiles which were statistically significantly closer (D²) to the 16PF profiles of five pathological groups than were those passing the Reid Report. Higher scores on the Reid Report were related to faking good on the 16PF. Since the relationship between 16PF faking good and the Reid Report may be indicative of real personality variance, distortion variance, or both follow-up research has been suggested.     

AGREEMENT BETWEEN SUBORDINATE AND SELF-RATINGS IN UPWARD FEEDBACK

This study examines measures of agreement between subordinate and self-ratings of leadership and boss/subordinate relationships in an upward feedback process conducted in a large department. Ratings were provided for 86 target managers from an average of six subordinates per manager. Individual characteristics of the target manager (sex and age) and organizational characteristics of the work unit (the target manager's organizational level and organizational unit, line or staff) were examined as correlates of agreement. Profile agreement (the correlation between self-ratings and the average subordinates'ratings across 48 items) was higher for female than male target managers, and was higher in line than staff units. Also, profile agreement increased over time for the 39 target managers rated one year later. Other findings indicated psychometric properties of upward feedback data. For instance, profile agreement was positively related to the number of subordinates in the work group. The discussion focuses on the need for research on variables that influence the reliability and usefulness of upward feedback data.     

Comparison of MCMI-II and 16PF Validity Scales

We administered the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II; Millon, 1987) and the Sixteen Personality Factors Inventory (16PF; Cattell, Eber, & Tatsuoka, 1970) to 131 outpatients in marital therapy and tested the correlation between the validity scales of the two instruments. The results indicated that MCMI-II Disclosure and Debasement scales were positively correlated with the 16PF Fake-Bad scale and negatively correlated with the 16PF Fake-Good scale. The MCMI-II Desirability scale was significantly correlated with the 16PF Fake-Good scale.