Patricia Bachelor

The Dimensionality of a Modified Form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for University Students in a Teacher-Training Program:

For a sample of 147 fifth-year students enrolled in a teacher training program at the elementary school level, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses involving orthogonal and oblique solutions were carried out on a correlation matrix of scores on 22 items from a self-report inventory of teacher burnout that was adapted with permission from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The modifications incorporated within the new instrument, which is referred to as the College Student Survey (CSS), constituted the substitution of words within several item statements that would be more suitable in a teaching context than were the statements in the MBI which were oriented toward workers in other forms of public service. As in the instance of other factor analytic studies with the MBI, the three hypothesized constructs of burnout described as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment were clearly defined in all factor solutions irrespective of whether the items were scored for frequency or intensity.

Higher‐order factors of creativity within Guilford's structure‐of‐intellect model: A re‐analysis of a fifty‐three variable data base

Abstract: Both exploratory factor analyses (varimax and promax solutions) and confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses were used to re‐examine a correlation matrix of 53 tests from a battery administered to a sample of more than 400 Air Force officers. The data base originated in a report from the University of Southern California Aptitudes Research Project (Guilford, Wilson, & Christensen, 1952), which was intended to identify factors of creative thinking. The major objective of this study was to ascertain whether the covariation among the test variables that were conceptualized as first‐order factors within the structure‐of‐intellect model could be explained parsimoniously in terms of a number of higher‐order creative abilities. Application of a relatively objective oblique exploratory factor analytic technique (promax) afforded a replication of four of Guilfords creativity factors—two divergent production constructs of ideational fluency and word fluency, one construct representing sensitivity ...

Higher‐order structure‐of‐intellect creativity factors in divergent production tests: A re‐analysis of a Guilford data base

Abstract: Exploratory factor analyses (varimax and promax solutions) and confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses were employed to re‐examine a correlation matrix of 27 divergent thinking tests from Guilford, Merrifield, and Cox (1961). In the exploratory analyses, only modest agreement with the solution derived by Guilford et al. was found. Testing of several alternative models to ascertain which would reproduce most accurately the correlation matrix indicated that two higher‐order oblique models comprising three kinds of content and six forms of products yielded indexes of closeness‐of‐fit nearly as good as those corresponding to an oblique model consisting of nine first‐order factors. In fact, the single general factor model accounted for almost as much covariance as the higher‐order oblique models. Orthogonal models yielded the least favorable indicators of closeness‐of‐fit. It was concluded that the divergent thinking tests intended to portray creativity can be conceptualized parsimoniously wi...

Higher-Order Factors in Structure-of-Intellect (SOI) Aptitude Tests Hypothesized to Portray Constructs of Military Leadership: A Re-Analysis of an SOI Data Base

Taken from a 1959 research report by Marks, Guilford, and Merrifield, a correlation matrix of 21 structure-of-intellect (SOI) tests intended to reflect aptitudes required in military leadership was re-analyzed through use of relatively objective exploratory factor analytic procedures (varimax and promax solutions for orthogonal and oblique structures, respectively) and through employment of confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses. For the sample of 204 Marine officers, only modest correspondence was found in the exploratory analyses between the solution by Marks et al. based on the orthogonal rotation of factor axes from a centroid matrix and the factor solutions obtained from application of the varimax and promax methods of rotation. An evaluation of selected alternative models comprising first-order and higher-order factors involving use of LISREL methodology revealed that a two-factor oblique model affording a separation of semantic and figural contents yielded the greatest promise in accounting for the covariation among the 21 aptitude tests. A higher-order oblique factor model furnishing a differentiation among three psychological operations of cognition, divergent production, and evaluation ranked second in its capability of reproducing the original correlation matrix. The conclusion was reached that the covariance among these aptitude tests can be meaningfully conceptualized within higher-order factor structures. A short discussion highlights possible difficulties and limitations likely to be realized in establishing the construct validity of the hypothesized first-order dimensions within the structure-of-intellect model.

First-Order and Higher-Order Creative Ability Factors in Structure-of-Intellect Measures Administered to Sixth-Grade Children.

This investigation is one in a series of re-analyses of those correlation matrixes consisting of structure-of-intellect (SOI) creativity tests devised by the late J. P. Guilford and his associates. Application of more recent exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic methodologies in comparison with those employed by Guilford and his associates provides a means for obtaining more objective, parsimonious, and possibly insightful interpretations of constructs underlying his creativity measures. Thus, the twofold purpose of this study was to ascertain for a sample of 403 sixth-grade children evenly divided by gender (a) the extent to which the first-order factors identified by Merrifield, Guilford, and Gershon in Report 27 from the Psychological Laboratory at the University of Southern California (May, 1963) could be replicated and (b) the degree to which higher-order factors could account for the covariance among the SOI measures in the correlation matrix. Three of Guilfords hypothesized creativity factors of ideational fluency, sensitivity to problems, and expressional fluency were replicated accompanied by a fusion of two of his hypothesized factors of originality and spontaneous flexibility into one dimension. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a general dimension reflecting primarily divergent production of semantic content could account for a large portion of the identifiable covariance among creativity measures. Application of goodness-of-fit indexes revealed that oblique higher-order factor models associated with three types of operations, two kinds of contents, and six forms of products did account for slightly more covariance than did the general factor model. Among all substantive models the oblique first-order nine-factor model provided the optimal fit. It was concluded that Guilford and his associates tended to extract and to rotate too many factors and that a more parsimonious interpretation of the factor structure of creativity tests than that afforded by Guilford could be realized.

An Investigation of the Higher-Order Symbolic Factors of Cognition and Convergent Production within the Structure of Intellect Model.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the existence of higher-order factors within the cognition and convergent production operations and the products dimensions of the structure-of-intellect model (Guilford, 1967, 1977, 1980). From the original data presented by Guilford, Merrifield, Christensen, and Frick (1960) on a sample of 240 Aviation Officer Candidates and Naval Air Cadets, an intercorrelation matrix of the 24 tests designed to measure symbolic factors of cognition and convergent production was reanalyzed using the method of maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis via LISREL. Results indicated that for tests of symbolic content with varying products the distinction between higher-order cognition and convergent production factors was not compelling. In tests of symbolic cognition, models including the form of product afforded a superior fit over models without this inclusion. However, the higher intercorrelations among the product factors suggested that only two higher-order product factors are involved—a units factor and a non-units factor. Finally, strong evidence for a third-order symbolic factor was obtained.

The Convergence of the Results of Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in the Latent Structure of a Standardized Affective Measure

For a sample of 271 tenthand eleventh-grade students from middle-class families residing in a suburban setting, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out on a correlation matrix of 90 items and on a correlation matrix of 18 subtests, each consisting of five items. Both correlation matrixes were derived from an affective measure comprising six relatively homogeneous factor scales, each with 15 items. A comparison of the various orthogonal and oblique solutions for the item correlation matrix and for the subtest correlation matrix revealed comparable dimensions. Application of goodness-of-fit indexes in the confirmatory analyses revealed that the six-factor oblique solution for either the item or subtest correlation matrix accounted for the greatest amount of covariation in each matrix. It was concluded that in the instance of a multidimensional affective measure with homogeneous scales a high degree of convergence was realized in the solutions obtained by either exploratory or confirmatory factor analyses whether intercorrelations of items or of composites of items (subtests) were examined.

A Comparison of the Orthogonal and the Oblique Factor Structures of Correlation Matrixes of Individual Items and of Composites of Items (Subtests) Derived from a Standardized Affective Measure.

For a 90-item standardized affective measure containing six factor scales (with 15 items per scale) that in its original form of 150 items (25 items per subscale) had undergone three item-analysis studies (with two representing cross-validation efforts) to achieve a relatively higher degree of homogeneity than that in the orginal scales, the major purpose of this investigation was to compare both an orthogonally and obliquely rotated factor structure of a correlation matrix of individual items with that of sets of composites of five items (three subtests per factor scale). The two groups of tenth and eleventh grade students employed in this study came primarily from middle-class families: (a) a suburban Anglo sample of 337 subjects (170 males and 167 females) and (b) a rural Anglo sample of 146 (74 males and 72 females) with fewer than two percent of the participants in either sample representing minorities. The orthogonally rotated factor solution was achieved from use of the varimax procedure, and the obliquely rotated factor solution was effected from employment of the promax method. The two major conclusions suggested by the data analyses were that (a) both an orthogonally rotated (varimax) and an obliquely rotated (promax) factor solution can be expected to yield meaningful psychological dimensions that can be interpreted as corresponding to the scales of the instrument irrespective of whether an item correlation matrix or subtest correlation matrix has been analyzed and (b) the orthogonally rotated and obliquely rotated factor solutions afford comparable structures that permit inferences regarding what are readily interpretable or identifiable latent traits underlying a test that has been designed to operationalize a given psychological domain. The outcomes of these exploratory factor analyses are being used in several confirmatory factor analyses with various data bases to test a number of alternative hypotheses regarding the factorial structure of the affective measure employed.

First-Order and Higher-Order Semantic and Figural Factors in Structure-Of-Intellect Divergent Production Measures

This investigation consists of several reanalyses of two correlation matrices comprising 21 structure-of-intellect (SOI) divergent production tests taken from the 1963 Report No. 29 of the University of Southern California Aptitudes Research Project. Application of updated exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic methodologies led to the conclusion that the results obtained could not be replicated. It appeared from the confirmatory factor analyses that a higher-order two-factor oblique model of semantic and symbolic contents furnished as adequate or nearly as adequate an explanation of the covariance among test variables as did more complex models involving several factors.

A Comparison of the Multitrait-Multimethod and Factor Analytic Methods in the Determination of the Discriminant Validity of Three Tests of Creativity

Creativity measurement has been a creative endeavor for researchers and practitioners. A salient characteristic of creativity measurements is their diversity which is indicative of the complexity of the construct and of the multitude of settings under which it is assessed. Creativity is often subjectively assessed; hence judges are expected to be able to distinguish creativity from other constructs such as intelligence, achievement, and originality. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether judges could discriminate validly between the correctness and the originality of responses to three tests of creativity. Evidence of convergent validity is demonstrated when there exists a significant agreement between measurements of the same traits (correctness or originality) with different methods (judges). The multitrait-multimethod procedure was used to assess these validities. The results showed compelling evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the tests. Factor analysis revealed a factor structure that was generally consistent with the distinction between these two traits.