The role of item extremity in the emergence of keying-related factors: an exploration with the life orientation test

Keying-related factors in psychological scales are variously interpreted substantively or as products of violations of the assumptions underlying item keying. The present study investigated whether the extremity of the wording of items may contribute to the emergence of item-keying factors in a commonly used psychological scale. Respondents (N = 277) completed the Life Orientation Test (M. F. Scheier & C. S. Carver, 1985) in either its original or modified, more moderately worded form. Results indicate that the interaction of item extremity and item keying significantly affected subscale means and, more important, that the more moderately worded scale was substantially more unidimensional. Results are explained partially through the association of lesser and greater extremity with the tendency for some respondents to agree or disagree with items irrespective of keying direction. These results, although demonstrated in only 1 scale, have potential relevance to any scale comprising positive and negative items.