FACTOR-ANALYTIC EXAMINATION OF THE ATTRIBUTIONAL DIMENSION SCALE

The present study used factor analysis to determine empirically how ma ny dimensions underlie the Attributional Dimensions Scale (ADS). Subje cts were 300 university students who made attributions for success or failure regarding a recent piece of marked work. A series of factor an alyses was conducted then to determine whether four factors could be s hown to underlie the 16-item 4ADS. Similarly, the factor structure of the 20-item 5ADS was investigated. Results for the 4ADS suggested thre e primary dimensions, which were an internality/controllability factor , globality, and a stability factor. Results for the 5ADS were essenti ally similar, with the addition of a universality factor. Two controll ability items loaded with internality and the other two formed a highl y specific two-item factor. The splitting of the items from the Contro llability scale, across separate factors, was seen to reflect subtle d ifferences in phrasing. Notwithstanding the lack of clear discriminati on between internality and controllability, the present study provides good evidence for the ability of the 16-item ADS and the 20-item ADS to measure three and four factorially distinct dimensions of attributi on respectively.