Differential responding to positive and negative items: The case of a negative item in a questionnaire for course and faculty evaluation

Previous factor-analytic studies of self-rating scales have yielded a facto r on which negatively worded items loaded separately. The present study inv estigated the existence for such a factor in a questionnaire for course and teacher evaluation which included one negative item. The questionnaire was administered in 1,095 university classes. Two factors emerged, an exclusiv ely positive-item factor and another factor on which the single negative it em and one positive item loaded. It was suggested that both items of Factor 2 were ambiguous and may identify tendencies such as acquiescence, random responding, and response sets.