Examining the Structural Validity of Stereotype Content Measures – A Preregistered Re-Analysis of Published Data and Discussion of Possible Future Directions

The stereotype content model (SCM) plays a prominent role in social perception research when comparing the evaluation of different groups on warmth and competence dimensions. We examined the structural validity of SCM measures from publications based on data from English speaking participants. Re-analyzing 78 datasets from 43 published studies using confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance assessment, we found that 34.81% of the 586 re-analyzed SCM measurement models showed adequate scale dimensionality, implying a meaningful and valid warmth and competence assessment in one third of all cases. Regarding the scales’ comparability as defined by measurement invariance, we found (partial) scalar invariance as precondition for meaningful mean-value comparisons in 11.43% of all cases. These findings indicate considerable validity concerns in published SCM research. We propose future directions to improve the measurement quality and validity in future SCM research and invite fellow researchers to constructively discuss these ideas.

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A Preregistered Examination of Scale Properties of Stereotype Content Measures: The German Case

10.31234/osf.io/fa39w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria-Therese Friehs ◽

Patrick Ferdinand Kotzur ◽

Ann-Kristin Zöller ◽

Ulrich Wagner ◽

Frank Asbrock

Keyword(s):

Social Perception ◽

Measurement Equivalence ◽

Mean Value ◽

Published Data ◽

Data Sets ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Measurement Models ◽

Stereotype Content ◽

Scale Properties ◽

Language Context

The stereotype content model (SCM), which defines warmth and competence as fundamental dimensions of social perception, plays a prominent role in contemporary research. Recently, researchers suggested that the SCM scales currently utilised in English contexts might perform less well than previously assumed (Friehs et al., 2021). This was particularly the case when it came to meeting prerequisites for mean-value comparisons, which are the kinds of analyses that SCM scales are mostly submitted to. We build on this research by investigating the scale properties of SCM measures in the German language context. Thus, we investigated the reliability, dimensionality and cross-target group measurement equivalence of German SCM scales in 29 published data sets (N = 10,854) using a preregistered analysis protocol. Confirmatory factor analyses of 507 SCM measurement models showed that the reliability of the used scales was on average good and that they showed adequate dimensionality in 35.10 % of all cases. We additionally assessed (partial) scalar measurement equivalence as a prerequisite for meaningful mean-value comparisons and found evidence for it in 11.44% of all cases. Our findings echo those from the English context and indicate that the currently utilised German scales perform less well than we would have hoped. Moreover, our findings contribute to a debate about how to measure stereotype content, and we call on all researchers to invest in scale development efforts to ensure highly reliable and valid social perception research in Germany and elsewhere.

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Measurement Invariance Testing Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Alignment Optimization: A Tutorial for Transparent Analysis Planning and Reporting

10.31234/osf.io/qr32u ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Kay Flake ◽

Raymond Luong

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Traditional Approach ◽

Research Question ◽

Measurement Properties ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Invariance Testing ◽

Measurement Models ◽

Multiple Group ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Traditional Approaches

Measurement invariance—the notion that the measurement properties of a scale are equalacross groups, contexts, or time—is an important assumption underlying much of psychology research. The traditional approach for evaluating measurement invariance is to fit a series of nested measurement models using multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses. However, traditional approaches are strict, vary across the field in implementation, and present multiplicity challenges, even in the simplest case of two groups under study. The alignment method was recently proposed as an alternative approach. This method is more automated, requires fewer decisions from researchers, and accommodates two or more groups. However, it has different assumptions, estimation techniques, and limitations from traditional approaches. To address the lack of accessible resources that explain the methodological differences and complexities between the two approaches, we introduce and illustrate both, comparing them side by side. First, we overview the concepts, assumptions, advantages, and limitations of each approach. Based on this overview, we propose a list of four key considerations to help researchers decide which approach to choose and how to document their analytical decisions in a preregistration or analysis plan. We then demonstrate our key considerations on an illustrative research question using an open dataset and provide an example of a completed preregistration. Our illustrative example is accompanied by an annotated analysis report that shows readers, step-by-step, how to conduct measurement invariance tests using R and Mplus. Finally, we provide recommendations for how to decide between and use each approach and next steps for methodological research.

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Social–Structural Antecedents Come Forward to Elicit Envy to Distant Out-Groups

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.610571 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Nino Javakhishvili ◽

Nino Butsashvili ◽

Irina Vardanashvili ◽

Anna Gogibedashvili

Keyword(s):

Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Group Design ◽

Content Model ◽

Stereotype Content ◽

Social Structural ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

German Speaking ◽

English Speaking ◽

Students Attitudes

This study utilizing correlation, regression, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), ANOVA, moderation and mediation analysis investigated connections of stereotypes, emotions, and sociocultural variables in a single-sample/single-group design. Prior to data processing, Georgian versions of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) questionnaires were validated through CFA. The study looked at Georgian students' attitudes to: (a) representatives of German-speaking countries (87 participants) and (b) representatives of English-speaking countries (244 participants). Emotions predicted to these groups by social–structural antecedents—vitality and fear of assimilation—and stereotypes were admiration, pride, and sympathy. In addition, envy was predicted for the English-speaking group. The prediction of envy is explained by moderation analysis according to which it is elicited by the interplay of warmth and competence, as well as fear of assimilation and competence. The former interaction mediates the link between social–structural antecedents to emotions. Thus, distant out-groups elicit envy as a result of their perceived vitality, fear of assimilation, warmth, and competence. Social–structural antecedents come forward to elicit emotions of envy independently as well as in interaction with stereotypes when small country representatives evaluate representatives of the influential group of English-speaking people.

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A Personality Trait-Based Network of Boredom, Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind-Wandering

Assessment ◽

10.1177/1073191120936336 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107319112093633

Author(s):

Corinna S. Martarelli ◽

Alex Bertrams ◽

Wanja Wolff

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Self Report ◽

Graph Analysis ◽

Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

German Speaking ◽

English Speaking ◽

Boredom Proneness

This article reports the translation into German and validation of two self-report measures of mind-wandering and boredom (the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind-Wandering Scales and the Short Boredom Proneness Scale). Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the original conceptualization of the constructs. To evaluate measurement invariance across samples, data were collected in a German-speaking sample ( n = 418) and an English-speaking sample ( n = 364). The results indicated weak measurement invariance. To explore the interplay between mind-wandering and boredom, we performed an exploratory graph analysis in the entire sample ( N = 782), which revealed the structure of relationships between boredom and the two facets of mind-wandering. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of boredom and mind-wandering.

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A personality trait-based network of boredom, spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering

10.31234/osf.io/kg6jr ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Corinna Martarelli ◽

Alex Bertrams ◽

Wanja Wolff

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Self Report ◽

Graph Analysis ◽

Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

German Speaking ◽

English Speaking ◽

Boredom Proneness

This article reports the translation into German and validation of two self-report measures of mind-wandering and boredom (the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind-Wandering Scales; SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013, and the Short Boredom Proneness Scale; SBPS; Struk, Carriere, Cheyne, & Danckert, 2017). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) provided support for the original conceptualization of the constructs. To evaluate measurement invariance across samples, data were collected in a German-speaking sample (n = 418) and an English-speaking sample (n = 364). The results indicated weak measurement invariance. To explore the interplay between mind-wandering and boredom, we performed an exploratory graph analysis (EGA) in the entire sample (N = 782), which revealed the structure of relationships between boredom and the two facets of mind-wandering. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of boredom and mind-wandering.

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Measurement Invariance Analysis of the Parental Stress Index

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000463 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 771-778 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bernhard Piskernik ◽

Barbara Supper ◽

Lieselotte Ahnert

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Parental Stress ◽

Stress Index ◽

Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Mean Values ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Structural Invariance ◽

Parent Domain ◽

Structural Levels

Abstract. While parenting research continues to compare similarities and differences in mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors based on mean values on the respective dimensions, measurement invariance as a prerequisite for these comparisons has seldom been assured. The present study thus subjected the well-known Parenting Stress Index (PSI), widely used in models of family functioning, to a rigorous measurement invariance analysis based on ( N = 214) Austrian couples with children younger than 3 years of age. We evaluated configural, metric, scalar, and uniqueness invariance on item and subscale levels, and tested for structural invariance of means and variances of the PSI parent and child domain by second-order confirmatory factor analyses. As a result, only measurement differences on the scalar levels affected the factor scores, though negligibly. On the structural levels, no differences were found on the PSI child domain across parents, but on the PSI parent domain, mothers reported more stress.

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Measurement Invariance of Divergent Thinking Across Gender, Age, and School Forms

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.25.1.1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jörg-Tobias Kuhn ◽

Heinz Holling

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Divergent Thinking ◽

Factor Model ◽

Age Groups ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Specific Model ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Confirmatory Factor

The present study explores the factorial structure and the degree of measurement invariance of 12 divergent thinking tests. In a large sample of German students (N = 1328), a three-factor model representing verbal, figural, and numerical divergent thinking was supported. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed that partial strong measurement invariance was tenable across gender and age groups as well as school forms. Latent mean comparisons resulted in significantly higher divergent thinking skills for females and students in schools with higher mean IQ. Older students exhibited higher latent means on the verbal and figural factor, but not on the numerical factor. These results suggest that a domain-specific model of divergent thinking may be assumed, although further research is needed to elucidate the sources that negatively affect measurement invariance.

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Examining Boyhood Masculinity Within an Irish Context: An Assessment of the Reliability and Structural Validity of the Meanings of Adolescent Masculinity Scale and the Adolescent Masculinity Ideology in Relationships Scale

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211023180 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 215824402110231

Author(s):

Joshua W. Katz ◽

Todd G. Morrison ◽

Cormac Ó Beaglaoich

Keyword(s):

Goodness Of Fit ◽

Factor Analyses ◽

Adolescent Boys ◽

Structural Validity ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Cultural Variations ◽

Masculinity Ideology ◽

Irish Context ◽

Confirmatory Factor

The Meanings of Adolescent Masculinity Scale (MAMS) and the Adolescent Masculinity Ideology in Relationships Scale (AMIRS) were designed by American researchers to assess masculinity in adolescent boys. Given that masculinities differ cross-culturally, though, these scales may not be viable for use with non-American populations. In the current study, 221 Irish adolescents completed the MAMS and the AMIRS. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), the MAMS’s and the AMIRS’s factor structures were tested. Results indicated poor goodness-of-fit in both cases. Attempts to improve the models were unsuccessful. Accordingly, neither the MAMS nor the AMIRS appear to be structurally valid within an Irish context. We recommend that researchers consider cultural variations when designing, validating, and utilizing indicators of masculinity.

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