When matches are ideal: Fitting measurement models to adult attachment data

Many self-report inventories in social/personality psychology are developed and scored using dominance-based assumptions. Specifically, it is assumed that the relationship between item endorsement and the latent trait is monotonically increasing. It is possible, however, that the item response process for these inventories actually follows an ideal-point process in which respondents seek to endorse items that best describe them, leading to non-monotonic relations between item responses and latent traits. This study examined whether the item response process underlying the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000)--a commonly used self-report measure of adult attachment styles--is best understood as a dominance or ideal-point process. The authors compared the fits of alternative models in a sample of 1,293 adults. Results showed that the ideal point model provided a good account of the response process, and provided better interpretability for the full trait continuum. Importantly, people who were the most insecure were the most likely to be scored differently under these two item response models. I confirmed this finding in a simulation study: When data were generated from an ideal-point process, scores computed using dominance model assumptions led to striking mismeasurements of attachment insecurity.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Sun, Tianjun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Drasgow, Fritz
• Fraley, R. Christopher

• adult attachment
• item response theory
• ideal point model
• typical behavior
• measurement and scoring

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Tianjun Sun

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/99258

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/99258