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Second-Order Factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

L. L. Thurstone
L. L. Thurstone*
Affiliation:
The University of Chicago
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Abstract

Second-order factors are defined and illustrated in terms of a literal notation, a physical example, a diagrammatic representation, a geometrical example, and the matrix equations relating the first-order and second-order domains. Both kinds of factors are discussed as parameters which may be not only descriptive of the individual objects in a statistical population but also descriptive of the restrictive conditions under which the objects were generated or selected. Second-order factors may be of significance in reconciling the several theories of intelligence. This paper is concerned with test configurations that show simple structure. If such a structure is not revealed, then the second-order domain is indeterminate.

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 1944 , pp. 71 - 100
Copyright
Copyright © 1944 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

*

This study of second-order factors is one of a series of investigations in the development of multiple factor analysis and applications to the study of primary mental abilities. This investigation has been supported by a research grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Psychometric Laboratory has also had support from the Social Science Research Committee of The University of Chicago.

References

* Thurstone, L. L. Current issues in factor analysis. Psychol. Bull., 1940, 37, p. 222.

* Elsewhere we have denoted this matrix Rpq but we are here using the subscript t for the primary vectors Tt and reserving the subscripts p and q for the primary reference vectors A, B, and C. Hence the correlations of the primary factors are here denoted Rt instead of Rpq.