Blackwell Reference Online

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Factor analysis is a data analysis procedure that aims at extracting a small number of factors from a large number of items, that is, from variables. The extracted few factors should be able to describe and explain the core characteristics of a phenomenon, without the loss of too much information. Hence, factors show the essence of a large amount of measured items. Charles Spearman pioneered the use of factor analysis and is credited with the invention of this statistical technique (→  Statistics, Descriptive ; Statistics, Explanatory ). He found out that children's scores on a wide variety of seemingly unrelated items were somehow correlated (→  Correlation Analysis ). He postulated that a general mental ability underlies and shapes cognitive performance. Factor analysis was and is therefore often associated with intelligence research and the development of objective tests for its measurement (→  Measurement Theory ). Raymond Cattell expanded on Spearman's idea in using a multifactor theory to explain intelligence. He addressed alternate factors in intellectual development, like motivation and psychology. Still very well-known is Cattell's 16 personality factors (16 PF) theory of personality. However, the technique has also been used to find factors in a broad range of domains such as psychology (personality, →  attitudes , beliefs, motives), →  Marketing , sociology, etc. An ... log in or subscribe to read full text