Unrestricted Factor Analytic Procedures for Assessing Acquiescent Responding in Balanced, Theoretically Unidimensional Personality Scales

This article describes and proposes an unrestricted factor analytic procedure to: (a) assess the dimensionality and structure of a balanced personality scale taking into account the potential effects of acquiescent responding, and (b) correct the individual trait estimates for acquiescence. The procedure can be considered as an extension of ten Berge's (1999) principal component-based approach, and is intended for scales that attempt to measure a single trait. First, the rationale of the procedure is described for the correlation and covariance cases, and the relations with an alternative restricted model are discussed. Next, additional criteria for supporting the proposed unrestricted solution are suggested. The procedure and the additional criteria are illustrated using empirical data. The usefulness of the procedure in applied personality measurement is discussed.

[1]  D. Watson,et al.  Affects separable and inseparable: On the hierarchical arrangement of the negative affects , 1992 .

[2]  J. Jackson Barnette,et al.  Effects of Stem and Likert Response Option Reversals on Survey Internal Consistency: If You Feel the Need, There is a Better Alternative to Using those Negatively Worded Stems , 2000 .

[3]  J. Nunnally.  Introduction to Psychological Measurement , 1970 .

[4]  W. G. Howe.  SOME CONTRIBUTIONS TO FACTOR ANALYSIS , 1955 .

[5]  P. O'Malley,et al.  Self-concepts, self-esteem, and educational experiences: The frog pond revisited (again). , 1986 .

[6]  Jaak Billiet,et al.  Modeling Acquiescence in Measurement Models for Two Balanced Sets of Items , 2000 .

[7]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[8]  David Watson,et al.  Affects separable and inseparable : on the hierarchical arrangement of the negative affects , 1992 .

[9]  M. Morf,et al.  An Analysis of Two Response Styles: True Responding and Item Endorsement 1 , 1972 .

[10]  L. Cogan,et al.  An Experimental Study of Self-Analysis, Estimates of Associates, and the Results of Tests. , 1915 .

[11]  J. Ray.  Reviving the problem of acquiescent response bias. , 1983 .

[12]  A. Nyamathi,et al.  Gender differences in relationships among stress, coping, and health risk behaviors in impoverished, minority populations , 1998 .

[13]  E. S. Knowles,et al.  Why people say "yes": A dual-process theory of acquiescence. , 1999 .

[14]  H W Marsh,et al.  Positive and negative global self-esteem: a substantively meaningful distinction or artifactors? , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  L. G. Rorer,et al.  THE GREAT RESPONSE-STYLE MYTH. , 1965, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[17]  P. Bentler.  Semantic Space is (Approximately) Bipolar , 1969 .

[18]  Robert J. Mislevy,et al.  BILOG 3 : item analysis and test scoring with binary logistic models , 1990 .

[19]  A. T. Church,et al.  A Cross-Cultural Study of Response Biases in Personality Measures☆ , 1999 .

[20]  J. Ray.  Is the acquiescent response style problem not so mythical after all? Some results from a successful balanced F scale. , 1979, Journal of personality assessment.

[21]  K. Horner.  Locus of control, neuroticism, and stressors: Combined influences on reported physical illness , 1996 .

[22]  L. Tucker,et al.  Procrustes matching by congruence coefficients , 1976 .

[23]  Hans J. Eysenck,et al.  The Scientific Study of Personality , 1953 .

[24]  D. Jackson,et al.  Acquiescence and Desirability As Response Determinants On the MMPI , 1961 .

[25]  W. Velicer.  Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlations , 1976 .

[26]  Roger E. Millsap,et al.  Doing the Four-Step Right , 2000 .

[27]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Rev. ed. , 1989 .

[28]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: User's Reference Guide , 1997 .

[29]  Richard P. Bagozzi,et al.  An examination of the psychometric properties of measures of negative affect in the PANAS-X scales. , 1993 .

[30]  D. J. Lee.  Society and the Adolescent Self-Image , 1969 .

[31]  Catherine E. Ross,et al.  Eliminating defense and agreement bias from measures of the sense of control : A 2×2 index , 1991 .

[32]  T. Kamarck,et al.  A global measure of perceived stress. , 1983, Journal of health and social behavior.

[33]  L. Cronbach.  Further Evidence on Response Sets and Test Design , 1950 .

[34]  Alexander Shapiro,et al.  Statistical inference of minimum rank factor analysis , 2002 .

[35]  Robert A Emmons,et al.  Personal strivings, daily life events, and psychological and physical well-being. , 1991, Journal of personality.

[36]  T. Cleary,et al.  Direction of Wording Effects in Balanced Scales , 1993 .

[37]  R. P. McDonald,et al.  Test Theory: A Unified Treatment , 1999 .

[38]  T. Berge,et al.  How to score questionnaires , 1998 .

[39]  N Cliff,et al.  Some Cautions Concerning The Application Of Causal Modeling Methods. , 1983, Multivariate behavioral research.

[40]  J. T. ten Berge,et al.  A Legitimate Case of Component Analysis of Ipsative Measures, and Partialling the Mean as an Alternative to Ipsatization. , 1999, Multivariate behavioral research.

[41]  C. Carver,et al.  Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. , 1989, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[42]  C. P. Blacker,et al.  The scientific study of personality , 1955 .

[43]  ESTIMATING CONTENT-ACQUIESCENCE CORRELATION BY COVARIANCE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS. , 1974, Multivariate behavioral research.

[44]  Edward G. Carmines,et al.  Reliability and Validity Assessment , 1979 .

[45]  K. Keniston,et al.  Yeasayers and naysayers: agreeing response set as a personality variable. , 1960, Journal of abnormal and social psychology.