The 16 PF and CPI: a comparison

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Personality psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Cattell's 16 Personality Factor (PF) and Gough's California Psychological Inventory (CPI) are widely used personality assessments.
• Cross-inventory generalizability is crucial for consistent application in clinical and research settings.
• Understanding scale relationships with impression management and aptitude is vital for accurate interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the cross-inventory generalizability of personality traits measured by Cattell's 16 PF and Gough's CPI.
• To explore the relationships between these personality scales and measures of impression management and general aptitude.
• To evaluate the consistency and appropriateness of scale correlations.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of Cattell's 16 PF and Gough's CPI content scales.
• Exploration of univariate and multivariate relationships with impression management and general aptitude scales.
• Factor analysis with rotation to examine scale interrelationships.

Main Results:

• Poor and inconsistent cross-inventory convergences were found between the 16 PF and CPI.
• Correlates of desirability scales were consistent with prior research but showed some inappropriate magnitudes for CPI scales.
• Relationships between desirability and content scales were highly dependent on factor analysis rotation.

Conclusions:

• Significant scale dissimilarity between the 16 PF and CPI necessitates caution against cross-inventory generalization.
• Impression management scales demonstrated consistent characteristics, warranting further investigation.
• The findings highlight the need for careful consideration when interpreting results from different personality inventories.