Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026
10:39
Qualitative and Quantitative Validation of Tools with Rating Scales Aimed at Assessing the Quality of University Service-Learning
Published on: August 29, 2025
Exploratory factor analysis of the Human Behavior Rating Scale: a rural population.
Suzanne Woods-Groves1, Ronald C Eaves, Thomas O Williams
1Department of Teaching and Learning, Universityof Iowa, Iowa City, 52242-1529, USA. suzanne-woods-groves@uiowa.edu
Psychological Reports
|March 17, 2012
Summary
This study validated the Human Behavior Rating Scale (HBRS), confirming its five-factor structure for measuring student behavior. The five-factor model explained significantly more variance than a two-factor model.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Psychometrics
- Child Development
Background:
- The Human Behavior Rating Scale (HBRS) is a 91-item Likert-type scale.
- It is designed to measure five distinct behavioral factors: arousal (persistence, curiosity), affect (externalizing, internalizing), and cognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the construct validity of the Eaves' Human Behavior Rating Scale (HBRS).
- To determine the optimal factor structure for the HBRS in a sample of middle school students.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze data from 44 teachers rating 320 students in Grades 6-8.
- A principal-axis factor analysis with oblique promax rotation was employed.
- Three parcels were submitted for analysis for each of the five dimensions.
Main Results:
- The five-factor solution for the HBRS was supported, accounting for 90.2% of the total variance.
- A two-factor solution accounted for only 73.4% of the total variance.
- Intercorrelations between the five factors ranged from .15 to .76.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the construct validity of the HBRS.
- The five-factor structure provides a robust framework for assessing student behavior.
- The scale demonstrates good psychometric properties for use in educational settings.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Naturalistic Observations
If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
01:24Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the deterministic and pessimistic nature of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. While behaviorism focused on observable behaviors influenced by the environment and psychoanalysis delved into unconscious motivations, both theories suggested that human actions lacked free will. In contrast, humanistic psychology offers a perspective that emphasizes the innate potential for goodness and growth within every individual.
This approach...
This approach...
02:01Factorial Design
Factorial Analysis is an experimental design that applies Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical procedures to examine a change in a dependent variable due to more than one independent variable, also known as factors. Changes in worker productivity can be reasoned, for example, to be influenced by salary and other conditions, such as skill level. One way to test this hypothesis is by categorizing salary into three levels (low, moderate, and high) and skills sets into two levels (entry level...
02:16Surveys
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
01:50Cross-Sectional Research
In cross-sectional research, a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time. If they were interested in people's dietary habits, the researcher might directly compare different groups of people by age. Instead of following a group of people for 20 years to see how their dietary habits changed from decade to decade, the researcher would study a group of 20-year-old individuals and compare them to a group of 30-year-old individuals and a group of 40-year-old...
01:11Observational Studies
Observational studies are a type of analytical study where researchers observe events without any interventions. In other words, the researcher does not influence the response variable or the experiment's outcome.
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...