Abstract
We propose that a distinction be made between attitude states and traits. Attitudes are never measured in a situational vacuum. The situation in which attitudes are assessed and the interaction between person and situation may have systematic effects on answers to attitude questionnaires. Nevertheless, systematic and stable interindividual differences also exist. We supplement the classical concept of reliability by two coefficients: the consistency coefficient is the proportion of variance of an observed variable due to interindividual differences. The specificity coefficient is the proportion of variance due to (a) the different situations that may occur for different persons at an occasion of measurement, and (b) the person-situation interaction. The sum of both coefficients is the reliability coefficient for the occasion of measurement considered. A class of models consisting of assumptions similar to the classical assumptions of essential τ-equivalence are illustrated. These models imply special confirmatory factor models. Hence, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing may be accomplished by LISREL (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1988), EQS (Bentler, 1985), or LISCOMP (Muthén, 1988). The models are illustrated by a reanalysis of some data on attitudes toward guestworkers (Porst and Zeifang, 1987).
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Steyer, R., Schmitt, M.J. Latent state-trait models in attitude research. Qual Quant 24, 427–445 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00152014
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00152014