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The Recaptured Scale Technique: A Method for Testing the Structural Robustness of Personality Scales.

Niels G Waller¹, Colin G DeYoung¹, Thomas J Bouchard¹

¹a Department of Psychology , University of Minnesota.

Multivariate Behavioral Research

|May 19, 2016

Summary

The exploratory test construction method creates psychologically coherent personality scales. A new technique confirmed the robustness of scales from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ).

Keywords:

Big Five California Psychological Inventory Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire mega factor analysis recaptured scale technique twins reared apart

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Psychometrics

Background:

The exploratory test construction method, advocated by Tellegen and Waller, is a complex process.
Scales developed using this method, like the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), are believed to be more psychologically coherent and robust.
This study investigates the robustness of MPQ scales using a novel procedure.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the conjecture that scales constructed via exploratory test construction are psychologically coherent and robust.
To assess the structural robustness of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) scales.

Main Methods:

A megafactor analysis was conducted on data from 411 adult participants in the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart.
Participants completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), the MMPI, and the CPI.
21 factors were extracted and rotated from a correlation matrix of 1,102 nonredundant items using a novel 'recaptured scale technique'.

Main Results:

Nine of the 21 extracted factors were clearly recognizable as MPQ scales.
Two additional factors represented a bifurcation of an existing MPQ scale.
A higher-order factor analysis of the 21 factors revealed five factors resembling the Big Five personality structure.

Conclusions:

The findings provide strong support for the exploratory test construction method.
The structural robustness of most MPQ scales is confirmed.
The study validates the utility of the recaptured scale technique for assessing scale robustness.