Simplifying the Cattellian Psychometric Model

Abstract

This chapter concerns the scientific analysis of individual differences in human psychological functioning including personality structure, undertaken by the author over a 30-year period (Boyle, 2006b). A key aspect of this programmatic work has been the taxonomic delineation of psychological constructs relating to cognitive abilities, personality traits (both normal and abnormal), dynamic (motivation) traits, and transitory (emotional/mood) states within the framework of the Cattellian Psychometric Model (e.g., see Cattell, 1973Cattell, , 1979Cattell, , 1980aCattell, ,b, 1982aCattell, , 1983Cattell, , 1984Cattell, , 1988aCattell, ,b,c, 1990aCattell & Child, 1975;Cattell & Horn, 1982;Cattell & Kline, 1977; Cattell & Nesselroade, 1984;Cattell et al., 2002). This extensive body of taxonomic psychometric research has been empirical and measurement oriented, using a combination of multivariate experimental and quasi-experimental designs (e.g., Boyle, 1988c;Boyle et al., 1995; Cattell, 1988b,c,e) although some critical reviews and integrative position papers have also been generated (e.g., Boyle, 1985b;Boyle & Cattell, 1987;Boyle & Smári, 2002;Boyle et al., 1999).Raymond B. Cattell, PhD., DSc (London) was a prodigious, psychometrically-oriented behavioural scientist, listed among the top 10 most highly cited psychologists of the 20 th 2 century (Haggbloom et al., 2002, p. 142). Cattell led a team of internationally visible researchers in undertaking a programmatic series of innovative psychometric research studies into the structure and assessment of human personality and individual differences (e.g., see Cattell, 1980a,b). The Cattellian School contributed significantly to the contemporary understanding of human personality constructs, and made numerous psychometric advances, including several technical refinements to exploratory factoranalytic methodology as well as being responsible for the construction of a wide range of factor-analytically derived measurement instruments. Cattell was the recipient of several prestigious awards and prizes, including for example, the Wenner Gren Prize of the New York Academy of Sciences, Distinguished Honorary membership of the BritishPsychological Society, the Darwin Fellowship, and inaugural president of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP), which he founded (see Cattell, 1990b). Cattell also was involved in founding the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing(IPAT) which is recognized internationally as a major publisher of a wide range of factoranalytically based psychological tests and measurement instruments. Nevertheless, the report by Haggbloom et al. (2002) confirms that even though both Cattell and Eysenck were listed as among the 10 most highly cited psychologists in the published journal literature (attesting to their vast empirical outputs), the number of citations of their work in general psychology textbooks and in a survey of American Psychological Society (now Association for Psychological Science) members was disproportionately low...

Predicting the Sixteen Personality Factors (16PF) of an individual by analyzing facial features

“…Cattell mentions that at the basis of 16PF stand the individual differences in cognitive abilities, the transitory emotional states, the normal and abnormal personality traits, and the dynamic motivational traits [52]. Because of this, the 16PF questionnaire asks routine, concrete questions instead of asking the respondents to self-assess their personality, therefore removing the subjectivity and self-awareness of the subject.…”