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Original Articles

Scaling Response Processes on Personality Items Using Unfolding and Dominance Models

Published Online:January 21, 2008https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.24.1.65

Abstract

Abstract.Stark, Chernyshenko, Drasgow, and Williams (2006) and Chernyshenko, Stark, Drasgow, and Roberts (2007) suggested that unfolding item response theory (IRT) models are important alternatives to dominance IRT models to describe the response processes on self-report personality inventories. To obtain more insight into the structure of personality data, we investigated whether dominance or unfolding IRT models are a better description of the response processes on personality trait inventories constructed using dominance response processes or ideal-point response processes. Data from 866 adolescents on a Dutch personality inventory, the NPV-J (Luteijn, van Dijk, & Barelds, 2005), and from 704 adolescents on a Dutch translation of an Order scale (Chernyshenko et al., 2007) were used. Results from Stark et al. (2006) and Chernyshenko et al. (2007) were partly supported. The self-report inventory that was constructed using dominance response processes (NPV-J) consisted mostly of items with monotonically increasing item response functions (IRFs), but some IRFs were single-peaked. The Order scale (constructed on the basis of ideal-point response processes) consisted of items with monotonically increasing, decreasing, and single-peaked IRFs. Further implications for personality test construction are discussed.

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