Personality Types as Measured by the 16 PF

A Large Scale Cross-Validation of Second-Order Personality Structure Defined by the 16PF

The second-order factors structure of the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) was cross-validated on a large sample ( N = 17,381) of normal males and females. Subjects were sampled across a broad range of ages, socioeconomic levels, education, geographic location, and ethnicity. The purposes of this investigation were (1) to provide a precise definition of 16PF second-order factor structure, (2) to shed additional light on the nature of two second-order factors that have been previously identified but described as “unstable” and “poorly reproduced,” and (3) to determine the extent to which common factor estimation formulas for men and women would prove satisfactory for applied work. The resulting solutions were congruent with previous studies and showed a high degree of simple structure. Support was provided for one, but not both, of the two additional second-order factors. Results also supported the use of simplified estimation formulas for applied use.

Prototypical profiles of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

Three prototypical profiles of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS; Overall & Gorham, 1962) were isolated using a Q-type factor-analytic strategy with a sample of homeless men with mental illness (N=165). The 3 profiles--depressed, actively psychotic, and withdrawn--were used to study changes in BPRS profiles over time in a control group and a group that received assertive community treatment (ACT). Over2 time periods (inception to 12 months and 12-24 months), the 2 groups did not differ in terms of changes in profile shape, but they did differ in terms of changes in profile elevation. The ACT group evidenced a decrease in symptom severity during the last 12 months, whereas the control group showed an increase. Although changes in profile shape in both groups did occur, there was a significant tendency for the shape of the BPRS profiles to remain stable from the inception of the study to the 12-month assessment and from that time to the 24-month assessment. We describe the uses of these prototypical profiles and discuss the applicability of this analytical approach to other assessment instruments.

The Role of Elevation, Scatter, and Shape in MMPI Profiles

The contribution of profile elevation, scatter, and shape to differences between Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles was studied in psychiatric, normal, and mixed samples. Average between profile differences were smallest within the normal sample and largest within the mixed sample. Overall, the role of shape was most important, with elevation making a smaller but significant contribution to profile differences. Scatter was of minimal importance. Systems proposed by Skinner (1976) and Lorr (1982) were found to account for a large part of the variance due to shape, and these systems also were successful in classifying individual MMPI profiles. Advantages and applications of such systems in the analysis and description of profile data were discussed.

Profile patterns in the 16PF questionnaire

The study goal was to identify the main clusters of 16PF score profiles to be found in a mixed sample of students and adults. The 300 subjects represented, half male and half female, were subdivided into three equal subsamples. To demonstrate replicability, the three subsamples were cluster analyzed by three procedures: Nonhierarchical average linkage, minimum variance, and K-means. Four profile clusters were identified and replicated across two or three samples and for all three methods. The results were compared with those reported by other investigators.