scholarly journals Aggressiveness as a latent personality trait of domestic dogs: testing local independence and measurement invariance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor Goold ◽  
Ruth C. Newberry
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Animal Personality ◽  
Latent Variable Models ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Local Independence

AbstractStudies of animal personality attempt to uncover underlying or ‘latent’ personality traits that explain broad patterns of behaviour, often by applying latent variable statistical models (e.g. factor analysis) to multivariate data sets. Two integral, but infrequently confirmed, assumptions of latent variable models in animal personality are: i) behavioural variables are independent (i.e. uncorrelated) conditional on the latent personality traits they reflect (local independence), and ii) personality traits are associated with behavioural variables in the same way across individuals or groups of individuals (measurement invariance). We tested these assumptions using observations of aggression in four age classes (4 - 10 months, 10 months - 3 years, 3 - 6 years, over 6 years) of male and female shelter dogs (N = 4,743) in 11 different contexts. A structural equation model supported the hypothesis of two positively correlated personality traits underlying aggression across contexts: aggressiveness towards people and aggressiveness towards dogs (comparative fit index: 0.96; Tucker-Lewis index: 0.95; root mean square error of approximation: 0.03). Aggression across contexts was moderately repeatable (towards people: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.479; towards dogs: ICC = 0.303).However, certain contexts related to aggressiveness towards people (but not dogs) shared significant residual relationships unaccounted for by latent levels of aggressiveness.Furthermore, aggressiveness towards people and dogs in different contexts interacted with sex and age. Thus, sex and age differences in displays of aggression were not simple functions of underlying aggressiveness. Our results illustrate that the robustness of traits in latent variable models must be critically assessed before making conclusions about the effects of, or factors influencing, animal personality. Our findings are of concern because inaccurate ‘aggressive personality’ trait attributions can be costly to dogs, recipients of aggression and society in general.

Does the use of a multi-trait, multi-test approach to measure animal personality yield different behavioural syndrome results?

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 115-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Huang ◽  
Rebecca T. Kimball ◽  
Colette M. St. Mary
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Animal Personality ◽  
Behavioural Syndrome ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Behavioural Aspects

Abstract A multi-trait, multi-test approach to investigate the convergence or discrimination between behavioural tests putatively targeting the same or different animal personality traits has been recommended, yet whether and how the approaches affect the identification of behavioural syndrome(s), the suite of correlated personality traits, requires investigation. Here, we used behavioural measures collected from five commonly used behavioural tests targeting three personality traits, evaluated their convergence/discrimination through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and then explored whether the identification of syndrome changed based on the approach we used to quantify personality traits. Our results indicated that tests presumably targeting the same personality trait actually measured distinct behavioural aspects. Syndrome defined using correlation changed due to how we identified personality traits, but not when using structural equation models (SEMs). Overall, this study emphasizes that it is critical to clarify the approach and terms we use for ‘personality traits’ in the field of animal personality.

Examining the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) Across Models, Correlates, and Gender

Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112098662
Author(s):  
Craig S. Neumann ◽  
Daniel N. Jones ◽  
Delroy L. Paulhus
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Good Precision ◽  
Factor Analytic Model ◽  
Factor Analytic ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Model C

To date, no studies have examined a range of structural models of the interpersonally aversive traits tapped by the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4; narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism), in conjunction with their measurement invariance (males vs. females) and how the models each predict external correlates. Using a large sample of young adults ( N = 3,975), four latent variable models were compared in terms of fit, measurement invariance, and prediction of intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. The models tested were as follows: (Model A) confirmatory factor analytic, (Model B) bifactor, (Model C) exploratory structural equation model, and (Model D) a reduced-item confirmatory factor analytic that maximized item information. All models accounted for item covariance with good precision, although differed in incremental fit. Strong invariance held for all models, and each accounted similarly for the external correlates, highlighting differential predictive effects of the SD4 factors. The results provide support for four theoretically distinct but overlapping dark personality domains.

Valuing the Media: Access and Autonomy as Functions of Legitimacy for Journalists

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Welch Suggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Intercollegiate Athletics ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Media Access ◽  
Sports Organizations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Media

Sports reporters depend on access to events and sources as much or more than any other news professional. Over the past few years, some sports organizations have attempted to restrict such access, as well as what reporters can publish via social media. In the digital era, access and publishing autonomy, as institutionalized concepts, are evolving rapidly. Hypotheses tying access and work practices to reporters’ perceptions of the legitimacy they experience are developed and tested via a structural equation model, using responses to a survey of journalists in American intercollegiate athletics and observed dimensions of access and autonomy to measure a latent variable of legitimacy. The model suggests that reporters have mixed views about whether they possess the legitimacy they need to do their jobs.

scholarly journals Evaluating Sensitivity of Parameters of Interest to Measurement Invariance in Latent Variable Models

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Oberski
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulations ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Measurement Equivalence ◽  
Latent Variable Models ◽  
Parameter Change ◽  
Electronic Appendix ◽  
Invariance Model ◽  
Parameters Of Interest

Latent variable models can only be compared across groups when these groups exhibit measurement equivalence or “invariance,” since otherwise substantive differences may be confounded with measurement differences. This article suggests examining directly whether measurement differences present could confound substantive analyses, by examining the expected parameter change (EPC)-interest. The EPC-interest approximates the change in parameters of interest that can be expected when freeing cross-group invariance restrictions. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the EPC-interest approximates these changes well. Three empirical applications show that the EPC-interest can help avoid two undesirable situations: first, it can prevent unnecessarily concluding that groups are incomparable, and second, it alerts the user when comparisons of interest may still be invalidated even when the invariance model appears to fit the data. R code and data for the examples discussed in this article are provided in the electronic appendix (http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/21816).

Personality traits and firm innovation performance: the mediation effect of entrepreneurial innovativeness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Thi Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Duong Tuan Nguyen ◽  
Hang Thu Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Firm Innovation ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of entrepreneurs’ personality traits on firm innovation performance through the mediation role of entrepreneurs’ innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach The data consist of 2,574 firms from a survey of small and medium-scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, a developing and transitioning economy where SMEs constitute an integral part of the economy. The estimation results based on the structural equation model was applied to analyze the data. Findings The results indicate that an entrepreneur’s innovativeness is positively associated with his extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience but negatively accompanied with his neuroticism. Besides, the three traits – openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion have positive indirect effects, while neuroticism has a negative indirect effect on technological improvement and new technology adoption. However, the effects of agreeableness on entrepreneurial innovativeness and firm innovation performance are insignificant. In addition, the diverse backgrounds of the entrepreneur such as education and ethnics are also found to influence his innovativeness and to have indirect effects on firm innovation performance. Originality/value This study may contribute to the immature literature on the entrepreneurial process within SMEs by presenting empirical evidence on the relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits and firm innovation with a large sample of SMEs in Vietnam, an emerging economy where SMEs constitute an integral part of the economy.

Modelling Museum Visitors’ Perception and Experience of Authenticity: Examining Heterogeneity with a Finite Mixture Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Claudia Bauer-Krösbacher ◽  
Josef Mazanec
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Finite Mixture ◽  
Museum Visitors ◽  
Specific Strength

Purpose. In this study, the authors explore the role of museum visitors’ perceptions and experiences of authenticity. They introduce several variants of authenticity experience and analyse how they are intertwined and feed visitor satisfaction. Method. The authors apply a multi-step model fitting and validation procedure including inferred causation methods and finite mixture modelling to verify whether the visitors’ perceptions of authenticity are subject to unobserved heterogeneity. They elaborate an Authenticity Model that demonstrates out-of-sample validity and generalisability by being exposed to new data for another cultural attraction in another city. Then, they address the heterogeneity hypothesis and evaluate it for the case study with the larger sample. Findings. In both application cases, the Sisi museum in Vienna and the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, the empirical results support the assumed cause-effect sequence, translating high quality information display—from traditional and multimedia sources—into Perceived Authenticity and its experiential consequences such as Depth and Satisfaction. Accounting for unobserved heterogeneity detects three latent classes with segment-specific strength of relationships within the structural model. Research and conclusions limitations. The combined latent-class, structural-equation model needs validation with another sample that would have to be larger than the available Guinness database. Future studies will have to complement the purely data-driven search for heterogeneity with theory-guided reasoning about potential causes of diversity in the strength of the structural relationships. Practical implications. Cultural heritage sites are among the attractions most typical of city tourism. History tends to materialise in the artefacts accumulated by the population among the urban agglomerations, and museums are the natural places for preserving exhibits of cultural value. Authenticity must be considered an important quality assessment criterion for many visitors, whereby, the distinction between object authenticity and existential authenticity is crucial. Originality. In addition to making substantive contributions to authenticity theory, the authors also extend previous research in terms of methodological effort. Authenticity research, so far, has neither exploited inferred causation methods nor combined latent variable modelling with detecting unobserved heterogeneity. Type of paper: Research article.

Using and expanding hybrid latent variable models for modelling missing data and for discovering influential points

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ευγενία Τσομπανάκη
Keyword(s):  
Missing Data ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Latent Variable Models ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Local Independence ◽  
Influential Points ◽  
Response Propensity

Ο όρος Υβριδικός χρησιμοποιείται γενικά για να περιγράψει το μεικτό χαρακτήρα ενός αντικειμένου το οποίο αποτελείται από δύο στοιχεία. Τα Υβριδικά μοντέλα λανθανουσών μεταβλητών επιτρέπουν τον ορισμό δύο ή περισσοτέρων κλάσεων και δομές εντός των ομάδων οι οποίες καλύπτουν ένα μεγάλο εύρος από απλή ανεξαρτησία (local independence) έως σύνθετες σχέσεις μεταξύ των λανθανουσών μεταβλητών. Στο Κεφάλαιο 1 γίνεται αναφορά και σχολιασμός της βιβλιογραφίας στο πεδίο των Υβριδικών μοντέλων καθώς και λεπτομερής παρουσίαση της διαδικασίας εκτίμησης με χρήση του ΕΜ ενός Υβριδικού Hybrid 2LC/2PL-Hom μοντέλου. Ο συμβολισμός 2LC/2PL-Hom δηλώνει ένα μοντέλο για το οποίο οι απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα προς απόκριση εξαρτώνται από μία διακριτή λανθάνουσα μεταβλητή η οποία διαιρεί τον πληθυσμό σε δύο ομάδες (2LC) και επιπλέον ότι οι απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα σε μία από τις δύο αυτές ομάδες εξαρτώνται από μία συνεχή λανθάνουσα μεταβλητή. Η πιθανότητα απάντησης για αυτή την ομάδα δίνεται από το μοντέλο δύο παραμέτρων (2PL-IRT). Η άλλη ομάδα θεωρείται ομογενής (Homogeneous-Hom) χωρίς κάποια άλλη λανθάνουσα δομή. Η προσαρμογή του μοντέλου αποτελεί το αντικείμενο συζήτησης και έρευνας των επόμενων δύο κεφαλαίων. Τεστ τα οποία εμπεριέχουν όλη την πληροφορία (Overall tests) και μέρος της πληροφορίας (Limited-information tests) των δεδομένων παρουσιάζονται και διερευνάται η συμπεριφορά τους μέσω προσομοίωσης για το 2LC/2PL-Hom μοντέλο σε ότι αφορά την ισχύ και το σφάλμα Τύπου Ι. Έμφαση δίνεται στην περίπτωση των δεδομένων τα οποία είναι αραιά (sparse) και τα οποία συναντάμε συχνά στο πεδίο εφαρμογής των λανθανουσών μοντέλων. Ως μέτρο για το πόσο αραιά είναι τα δεδομένα χρησιμοποιείται το ποσοστό των αναμενόμενων συχνοτήτων οι οποίες είναι μικρότερες ή ίσες με 5. Στο Κεφάλαιο 4 προτείνεται η χρήση του Hybrid 2LC/2PL-2PL μοντέλου για δίτιμα δεδομένα με ελλιπείς παρατηρήσεις οι οποίες δεν έχουν προέλθει τυχαία (MNAR) κατά τη διαδικασία απόκρισης των υποκειμένων. Το μοντέλο αυτό θεωρεί ότι τα ελλιπή (μη παρατηρούμενα) δεδομένα εξαρτώνται από κάτι επιπλέον σε σχέση με τα παρατηρούμενα και κάτω από τις απαραίτητες υποθέσεις και περιορισμούς επιτρέπει τα ελλιπή δεδομένα να συμπεριληφθούν στην ανάλυση. Συγκεκριμένα σύμφωνα με το προτεινόμενο μοντέλο η τάση των ερωτώμενων να αποκριθούν (response propensity) σχετίζεται με τις συγκεκριμένες ομάδες στις οποίες διαιρείται ο πληθυσμός από τη διακριτή λανθάνουσα μεταβλητή, η οποία μετράται από ένα σύνολο δίτιμων ερωτήσεων οι οποίες υποβάλλονται στα υποκείμενα. Στο Κεφάλαιο 5 γίνεται ανίχνευση σημείων επιρροής για δίτιμα δεδομένα με ένα 2PL-IRT μοντέλο με κύριο στόχο τον εντοπισμό τυχόν περιπτώσεων όπου τα αποτελέσματα της προσαρμογής ενός τέτοιου μοντέλου είναι παραπλανητικά και το προσδιορισμό της πηγής αυτού του φαινομένου.

scholarly journals Predicting Language Outcomes for Children Learning Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Child and Environmental Factors

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1595-1612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy C. Brady ◽  
Kathy Thiemann-Bourque ◽  
Kandace Fleming ◽  
Kris Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Communication Complexity ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
At Home

Purpose To investigate a model of language development for nonverbal preschool-age children learning to communicate with augmentative or alternative communication. Method Ninety-three preschool children with intellectual disabilities were assessed at Time 1, and 82 of these children were assessed 1 year later, at Time 2. The outcome variable was the number of different words the children produced (with speech, sign, or speech-generating devices). Children's intrinsic predictor for language was modeled as a latent variable consisting of cognitive development, comprehension, play, and nonverbal communication complexity. Adult input at school and home, and amount of augmentative or alternative communication instruction, were proposed mediators of vocabulary acquisition. Results A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that measures converged as a coherent construct, and a structural equation model indicated that the intrinsic child predictor construct predicted different words children produced. The amount of input received at home, but not at school, was a significant mediator. Conclusions The hypothesized model accurately reflects a latent construct of Intrinsic Symbolic Factor (ISF). Children who evidenced higher initial levels of ISF and more adult input at home produced more words 1 year later. The findings support the need to assess multiple child variables and suggest interventions directed to the indicators of ISF and input.

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