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

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.