Underlying factor structures of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales – Fifth Edition

The majority of commonly used intelligence measures provide information about the underlying factor structure of a test by including both exploratory, as well as confirmatory, factor analyses in their manuals (Wechsler, 2002; Wechsler, 2003). However, the manual of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales – Fifth Edition (SB5) does not include an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The initial concern is that EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are supposed to be used together when constructing a new test instrument (Gorsuch, 1983). The second greatest concern is that CFA only confirms one factor structure, while EFA can be used as an exploratory measure to find all possible factor structures.To ensure that findings of the CFA of the SB5 were not sample-specific an EFA was conducted on the data. The hypothesis of this study was that an EFA of the SB5 would yield a different underlying structure than the five-factor model used by Roid, which in fact it did. The factor structure found was dichotomous and named General Knowledge and Ordering/Sequencing of Information. The variables that loaded on factor one all reflected an individual’s fund of knowledge. Therefore, this first factor was named General Knowledge (GK). The variables that loaded onto the second factor had one major quality in common, which was that they required the ability to order and sequence information. Hence, this second factor was named Ordering/Sequencing of Information (OSI). The EFA of the SB5 data indicated that a different factor structure underlies the measure. This information is very useful to clinicians and may guide interpretation of the SB5 in practice. These findings also confirmed the necessity of EFAs when constructing a new test battery, even when the battery is based on a pre-established theory.Ph.D., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 200