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Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions

The bifactor model is a widely applied model to analyze general and specific abilities. Extensions of bifactor models additionally include criterion variables. In such extended bifactor models, the general and specific factors can be correlated with criterion variables. Moreover, the influence of ge...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Eid, Michael, Krumm, Stefan, Koch, Tobias, Schulze, Julian
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480823/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31162469
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6030042
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author Eid, Michael
Krumm, Stefan
Koch, Tobias
Schulze, Julian
author_facet Eid, Michael
Krumm, Stefan
Koch, Tobias
Schulze, Julian
author_sort Eid, Michael
collection PubMed
description The bifactor model is a widely applied model to analyze general and specific abilities. Extensions of bifactor models additionally include criterion variables. In such extended bifactor models, the general and specific factors can be correlated with criterion variables. Moreover, the influence of general and specific factors on criterion variables can be scrutinized in latent multiple regression models that are built on bifactor measurement models. This study employs an extended bifactor model to predict mathematics and English grades by three facets of intelligence (number series, verbal analogies, and unfolding). We show that, if the observed variables do not differ in their loadings, extended bifactor models are not identified and not applicable. Moreover, we reveal that standard errors of regression weights in extended bifactor models can be very large and, thus, lead to invalid conclusions. A formal proof of the nonidentification is presented. Subsequently, we suggest alternative approaches for predicting criterion variables by general and specific factors. In particular, we illustrate how (1) composite ability factors can be defined in extended first-order factor models and (2) how bifactor(S-1) models can be applied. The differences between first-order factor models and bifactor(S-1) models for predicting criterion variables are discussed in detail and illustrated with the empirical example.
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spelling pubmed-64808232019-05-29 Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions Eid, Michael Krumm, Stefan Koch, Tobias Schulze, Julian J Intell Article The bifactor model is a widely applied model to analyze general and specific abilities. Extensions of bifactor models additionally include criterion variables. In such extended bifactor models, the general and specific factors can be correlated with criterion variables. Moreover, the influence of general and specific factors on criterion variables can be scrutinized in latent multiple regression models that are built on bifactor measurement models. This study employs an extended bifactor model to predict mathematics and English grades by three facets of intelligence (number series, verbal analogies, and unfolding). We show that, if the observed variables do not differ in their loadings, extended bifactor models are not identified and not applicable. Moreover, we reveal that standard errors of regression weights in extended bifactor models can be very large and, thus, lead to invalid conclusions. A formal proof of the nonidentification is presented. Subsequently, we suggest alternative approaches for predicting criterion variables by general and specific factors. In particular, we illustrate how (1) composite ability factors can be defined in extended first-order factor models and (2) how bifactor(S-1) models can be applied. The differences between first-order factor models and bifactor(S-1) models for predicting criterion variables are discussed in detail and illustrated with the empirical example. MDPI 2018-09-07 /pmc/articles/PMC6480823/ /pubmed/31162469 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6030042 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Eid, Michael
Krumm, Stefan
Koch, Tobias
Schulze, Julian
Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title_full Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title_fullStr Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title_full_unstemmed Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title_short Bifactor Models for Predicting Criteria by General and Specific Factors: Problems of Nonidentifiability and Alternative Solutions
title_sort bifactor models for predicting criteria by general and specific factors: problems of nonidentifiability and alternative solutions
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480823/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31162469
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6030042
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