Predicting response time on self-report rating scale assessments of noncognitive constructs

Methodological studies of response time on noncognitive assessments have separately demonstrated the relevance of content trait level and response styles as predictive factors. In this paper we examine the simultaneous relevance of both factors as well as the potential for omitted predictor bias when ignoring either factor. Using response time data from several different noncognitive assessments, we demonstrate how a multilevel regression model that attends simultaneously to content and response style factors leads to consistent findings that support the simultaneous relevance of both factors. The average effects of response style consistently emerge as stronger, although also show greater respondent-level variability, possibly due to the multiple different underlying causes of response style behavior. Some implications for the use of response times in noncognitive measurement are considered.