Short Answer

Suppose you conduct a factor analysis on music preferences and find that the genre 'heavy metal' has a loading of 0.780.78 on Factor A and 0.050.05 on Factor B. Applying the concept of factor loadings from Rentfrow and Gosling's study, how should you apply these correlation values to determine which factor 'heavy metal' belongs to, and what does this loading value tell you about the strength of that relationship?

Question: Suppose you conduct a factor analysis on music preferences and find that the genre 'heavy metal' has a loading of 0.780.78 on Factor A and 0.050.05 on Factor B. Applying the concept of factor loadings from Rentfrow and Gosling's study, how should you apply these correlation values to determine which factor 'heavy metal' belongs to, and what does this loading value tell you about the strength of that relationship?

Sample answer: You should assign 'heavy metal' to Factor A because it has a high factor loading (0.780.78), which indicates a strong positive correlation with that factor. You would not assign it to Factor B because the loading of 0.050.05 represents an extremely weak correlation, meaning preference for heavy metal does not relate to that construct.

Key points:

  • Apply the rule that the highest factor loading determines a variable's factor membership.
  • Identify 0.780.78 as a strong correlation and 0.050.05 as a weak correlation.
  • Assign 'heavy metal' to Factor A based on the loading strength.

Feedback: Correct answers will apply the logic that higher loading values (approaching 1.01.0 or 1.0-1.0) indicate stronger correlations and determine that 'heavy metal' belongs to Factor A (0.780.78) rather than Factor B (0.050.05).

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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