An Exploratory Factor Analysis Of The Human Behavior Rating Scale

Abstract

This paper reviews 27 theories of human behavior. The theories were categorized as arousal, affect, and cognitive; each addressed a certain aspect of human behavior in a discrete manner. Eaves (1993b) proposed an Integrated Theory of Human Behavior that tied together existing theories that were undergirded by empirical support. Eaves described human behavior as consisting of arousal, affect, and cognition. His previous studies were reviewed that tested aspects of his theory. This study examined the internal consistency and construct validity of a new instrument, the Human Behavior Rating Scale, HBRS (2002) that was designed to aid in testing Eaves’ theory. Forty-four sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers from two rural southern counties completed a HBRS for 320 of their students. Cronbach’s alpha was used to examine the internal consistency for each grade: for the five dimensions of the HBRS: persistence, curiosity, externalizing affect, internalizing affect, and cognition. Reliability coefficients ranged from .91 to .98. The 94 items of the HBRS were used to construct three parcels for each of the five dimensions. The 15 parcels were then submitted to an exploratory factor analysis where principal axis factor analysis was employed. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index of sampling adequacy was .90 for the sample, indicating that the data represented a homogeneous collection of variables suitable for factor analysis. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant for the sample ?2 (105, N = 320) = 6961.33, p < .0001, which indicated that the set of correlations in the correlation matrix was significantly different from zero and suitable for factor analysis. A scree plot identified five factors. Communalities ranged from .85 to .96. An oblique Promax rotation was applied and a five-factor solution was revealed that recovered 90.24% of the total variance. Each of the three parcels loaded saliently on their respective factors; persistence, curiosity, externalizing affect, internalizing affect, and cognition. Pattern matrix coefficients ranged from .56 to 1.03. Intercorrelations between factors ranged from .15 to .76. The results of this study provided support for the reliability and construct validity of the HBRS for use with populations similar to the sample employed.