Examining the Dimensionality of Torrance's Figural Creativity Tests Through the Principal Component Analysis of Residuals

• In Event: Exemplary Practices in Test Validity Research and Evaluation

Abstract

Because factor analysis studies on the figural forms of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT-figural; Torrance, 1966) identified different numbers of factors, it was argued that the construct validity of the TTCT-figural is questionable. This study examined the dimensionality of the TTCT-figural Form A through the principal component analysis of Rasch item residuals. Data were collected from 193 second grade Turkish students. All the eigenvalues were below 2.10, indicating that the residual variance was at the noise level and that unidimensionality held regarding each creative thinking skill (CTS) measured on the test. When item difficulties were correlated among the CTSs, some CTSs were highly correlated, suggesting that the same construct might have affected more than one CTS.

Author

• Süreyya Yörük, Marmara University