Guilford's Facet Theory Of Intelligence: An Empirical Comparison Of Models.

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Cognitive Psychology
• Statistical Modeling

Background:

• Facet design is a framework for constructing tests.
• Guilford's structure of intellect model is a prominent theory.
• Evaluating competing models requires robust statistical methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare Guilford's structure of intellect model with an alternative model.
• To assess model fit using covariance structure analysis.
• To determine the interpretability of parameter estimates.

Main Methods:

• A general linear model was applied to seven data sets.
• Covariance structure analysis was used for model assessment.
• Both oblique and orthogonal factor solutions were examined.

Main Results:

• Orthogonal factor models did not adequately fit the data.
• The oblique Guilford model demonstrated superior fit compared to the alternative oblique model.
• Three data sets showed an acceptable fit for the oblique Guilford model.

Conclusions:

• The oblique Guilford model provides a better explanation for the observed data.
• Parameter estimates from the oblique Guilford model align with the structure of intellect theory.
• This research validates aspects of Guilford's model in psychometric testing.