A multi-dimensional factor analysis of pre-university students’ argumentative essays

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-138
Author(s):  
Kwanghyun Park ◽  
Eunkyung Hwang
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura K. Johnson ◽  
Rachel A. Plouffe ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske

Abstract. The Dark Triad is a constellation of three antisocial personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Recently, researchers have introduced a “Dark Tetrad” that includes subclinical sadism, although others suggest considerable overlap between psychopathy and sadism. To clarify the position of sadism within the Dark Triad, an online study was conducted with 615 university students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that a six-factor solution fit the data best, representing Machiavellianism, psychopathy, physical sadism, verbal sadism, narcissism, and vicarious sadism. Furthermore, convergent validity was supported through sadism’s correlations with the HEXACO personality traits. The results support sadism’s inclusion within the Dark Tetrad as a unique construct but with some conceptual overlap with psychopathy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-897
Author(s):  
Atiqa Rafeh ◽  
Rubina Hanif

The present study was intended to develop a scale to measure perceived weight stigmatization among people with obesity. The study was conducted in five steps. In first step, three focus group discussions were conducted with female obese university students to get the first-hand information related to weight stigmatization. Step two involved four interviews which were conducted with male obese university students to collect detailed information about weight stigmatization experiences of men. Step three included content analysis of qualitative data for item generation. In step four, judge’s opinion was taken, and a committee approach was carried out to select the items for the initial form of the scale. Items for final form of the scale were selected through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in step five. For exploratory factor analysis, 150 university students (men = 61, women = 89) were included in the sample, whereas, for confirmatory factor analysis, another group of students (men = 78, women = 72) participated in the study. Principal Component Factor Analysis revealed three meaningful structures including Self-Perception, Perceived Social Rejection, and Perceived Impact containing 43 items. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this factor structure and all 43 items possessed factor loadings greater than .40. Moreover, results indicated that perceived weight stigmatization had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .96) with three subscales having internal consistency .95, .83, and .92 respectively. Therefore, Perceived Weight Stigmatization Scale turned out to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring perception of weight stigma in adults with obesity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunmei Gan

The purpose of this paper is to examine the general and specific gratifications that drive users’ choice of different social media. Sina Weibo and WeChat in China were selected for the current study. Two separate empirical surveys were conducted and 368 valid data were collected from Chinese university students experienced in using Sina Weibo or WeChat. Exploratory factor analysis, paired t test and independent-samples t test were employed for data analysis. The results identify four general gratifications for using different social media: hedonic gratification, affection gratification, information gratification and social gratification. In addition, factor structure of information gratification is different for different social media. Furthermore, the strength of each gratification differs to varying degrees across the use of different social media. Information gratification plays the most salient role in using Sina Weibo, whereas affection gratification is the most important motive for the use of WeChat. Also, the use of Sina Weibo can better fulfill individuals’ information and hedonic gratifications, while individuals prefer to use WeChat for achieving gratifications of social and affection.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuko Omori ◽  
Yo Miyata

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of frequency of blinking on creating a personal impression. The subjects were 88 Japanese university students, 35 males and 53 females, who rated stimulus persons on a seven-point semantic differential scale. The stimulus persons, two males and two females, were presented on a 20-second video simulating various blink rates, i.e., 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 96 blinks/min. A factor analysis of the ratings yielded three factors, interpreted as Nervousness, Unfriendliness, and Carelessness. As the frequency of the stimulus persons'blinking increased, so did the tendency to rate them as more nervous and more careless. As for Unfriendliness, there was a U-shaped relation between the frequency of blinking and the impressions formed. Present results provide evidence that frequency of blinking plays an important role in impression formation. Further implications of the findings are discussed.


1997 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussein M. Yaghi

This study investigates the attitudes of school students toward computers using the Bath County Computer Attitudes Scale and a sample of 644 students in Lebanon. The properties of the scale were explored in relation to a cultural environment that was not investigated before. The reliability and factor analysis of the scale were reported and compared with the findings of other studies that were conducted in other countries using the same scale. In addition, factorial analysis of variance procedure was conducted to investigate the effect of gender and home ownership of computers on students' attitudes. Differences in the means of students' attitudes who used computers differently or received different computer training were compared.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1005-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham B. Stead ◽  
Mark B. Watson

Factor analysis of 190 South African university undergraduates' responses to the Commitment to Career Choices Scale showed considerable similarity of factors with those in Blustein, et al.'s 1989 work and supports the construct validity of the scale. However, omission of certain items from the two dimensions is recommended.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 657-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Hu ◽  
Peter A. Creed ◽  
Michelle Hood

Career goal feedback provides information about career goal suitability, adequacy of goal progress, and whether changes are needed to reach the goals. Feedback comes from external (e.g., parents, peers) and internal sources (e.g., self-reflection), and plays an important role in the career development of young people. As there is no existing measure that adequately captures this construct, we devised and validated a 24-item inventory for use with young adults. In Study 1, initial items were developed, expert reviewed, and administered to a sample of Chinese university students ( N = 1,055; MAGE = 19 years). We used exploratory factor analysis to test the factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis on a holdout sample to validate a third-order solution (one third-order factor manifested by three second-order factors). In addition, we provided evidence for convergent and incremental validity. In Study 2, we confirmed the factor structure on Australian university students ( N = 184; MAGE = 19 years).


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