Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM), and Set-ESEM: Optimal Balance Between Goodness of Fit and Parsimony

Abstract

CFAs of multidimensional constructs often fail to meet standards of good measurement (e.g., goodness-of-fit, measurement invariance, and well-differentiated factors). Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) represents a compromise between exploratory factor analysis’ (EFA) flexibility, and CFA/SEM’s rigor and parsimony, but lacks parsimony (particularly in large models) and might confound constructs that need to be kept separate. In Set-ESEM, two or more a priori sets of constructs are modeled within a single model such that cross-loadings are permissible within the same set of factors (as in Full-ESEM) but are constrained to be zero for factors in different sets (as in CFA). The different sets can reflect the same set of constructs on multiple occasions, and/or different constructs measured within the same wave. Hence, Set-ESEM that represents a middle-ground between the flexibility of traditional-ESEM (hereafter referred to as Full-ESEM) and the rigor and parsimony of CFA/SEM. Thus, the purposes of this article are to provide an overview tutorial on Set-ESEM, juxtapose it with Full-ESEM, and to illustrate its application with simulated data and diverse “real” data applications with accessible, heuristic explanations of best practice.     

Arousal,Suppression, and Persistence: Frustration Theory,Attention, and its Disorders

Abstract

In this article I deal first with the relevance of theories of frustration and general persistence to the concept of attention, and offer an interpretation of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in terms of persistence deficits. After summarising these theories and the manner in which they integrate the concepts of arousal, suppression, and persistence, I describe relevant developmental work in infant rats comprising an ontogenetic sequence of first appearance of a number of reward-schedule effects, and suggest their possible utility as a behavioural assay. Finally, I briefly review neuroanatomical and behavioural work on fetal alcohol and its possible implications for theories of attention and hyperactivity, and provide some data from experiments on fetal alcohol effects in infant rats which may have some relevance to such an interpretation.