How valid are lifestyle trait concepts and measures? A literature review shows little published evidence to suggest lifestyle trait researchers have rigorously tested the validity of their concepts and measures. An illustrative validation study demonstrates how trait validation efforts can improve. The validation study carefully scrutinizes three previously proposed lifestyle traits and provides only partial support for the validity of two of the three traits evaluated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllportG. W. (1937), Personality: A Psychological Interpretation.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
2.
AllportG. W. (1961), Pattern and Growth in Personality.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
3.
AllportG. W. (1966), “Traits Revisited,”American Psychologist, 21(January), 1–10.
4.
BohrnstedtG. W. (1970), “Reliability and Validity Assessment in Attitude Measurement,” in Attitude Measurement, SummersG. F., ed. Skokie, IL: Rand McNally.
5.
BoxG. E. P. (1949), “A General Distribution Theory for a Class of Likelihood Criteria,”Biometrika, 36(December), 317–46.
6.
CampbellD. T., and FiskeD. W. (1959), “Convergent and Discriminant Validation by the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix,”Psychological Bulletin, 56(March), 81–105.
7.
CattellR. B. (1961), “Theory of Situational, Instrument, Second-Order and Refraction Factors in Personality Structure Research,”Psychological Bulletin, 58(March), 160–74.
8.
CattellR. B. (1966), “The Meaning and Strategic Use of Factor Analysis,” in Handbook of Multivariate Experimental Psychology, CattellR. B., ed. Chicago: Rand McNally.
9.
CoanR. W. (1964), “Facts, Factors, and Artifacts: The Quest for Psychological Meaning,”Psychological Review, 71(March), 123–40.
10.
CohenJ. B. (1979), “Exploring Construct Validity: Or Are We?” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol.6, WilkieW. D., ed. Ann Arbor: Association for Consumer Research.
11.
CronbachL. J. (1951), “Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Consistency Structure of Tests,”Psychometrika, 16(September), 297–334.
12.
CronbachL. J., and MeehlP. E. (1955), “Construct Validity in Psychological Tests,”Psychological Bulletin, 52(May), 281–302.
13.
DouglasS. P., and UrbanC. D. (1977), “Life-Style Analysis to Profile Women in International Markets,”Journal of Marketing, 41(July), 46–54.
14.
HempelC. G. (1952), “Fundamentals of Concept Formation in Empirical Science,” in International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
15.
JacobyJ. (1976), “Consumer Psychology: An Octennium,” in Annual Review of Psychology, RosenweigM. R., and PorterL. W., eds. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Review, Inc.
16.
JöreskogK. G. (1971), “Simultaneous Factor Analysis in Several Populations,”Psychometrika, 36(December), 409–26.
17.
JöreskogK. G., and van ThilloM. (1971), “New Rapid Algorithms for Factor Analysis by Unweighted Least Squares, Generalized Least Squares and Maximum Likelihood,”Research Bulletin, 71–5. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
18.
KaiserH. F., and CaffreyJ. (1965), “Alpha Factor Analysis,”Psychometrika, 30(March), 1–14.
19.
LazerW. (1963), “Life Style Concepts and Marketing,” in Toward Scientific Marketing, GreyserS. A., ed. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
20.
MehrotaS., and WellsW. D. (1977), “Psychographics and Buyer Behavior: Theory and Recent Empirical Findings,” in Consumer and Industrial Buying Behavior, WoodsideA. G., and ShethJ. N., and BennettP. D., eds. New York: Elsevier North-Holland.
21.
MulaikS. A. (1972), The Foundations of Factor Analysis.New York: McGraw-Hill.
22.
RokeachM. (1973), The Nature of Human Values.New York: Free Press.
23.
SzybilloG. J., and BinstokS., and BuchananL. (1979), “Measure Validation of Leisure Time Activities: Time Budgets and Psychographics,”Journal of Marketing Research, 16(February), 74–9.
24.
TuckerL. R. (1975a), “Note on the Minimum Number of Attributes in a Battery to Support a Given Number of Factors in a Common Factor Analysis,” unpublished paper, University of Illinois.
25.
TuckerL. R. (1975b), “Unrestricted Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis Statistics,” unpublished paper, University of Illinois.
26.
TuckerL. R., and LewisC. (1973), “A Reliability Coefficient for Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis,”Psychometrika, 38(March), 1–10.
27.
van ThilloM., and JöreskogK. G. (1970), “A General Computer Program for Simultaneous Factor Analysis in Several Populations,”Research Bulletin, 70–62. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
28.
WellsW. D. (1975), “Psychographics: A Critical Review,”Journal of Marketing Research, 12(May), 196–213.
29.
WellsW. D., and CosmasS. C. (1977), “Life Styles,” in Selected Aspects of Consumer Behavior, FerberR., ed. Washington, D. C.: National Science Foundation.
30.
WindY., and GreenP. E. (1974), “Some Conceptual, Measurement, and Analytical Problems in Life Style Research,” in Life Style and Psychographics, WellsW. D., ed. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
31.
ZaltmanG., and PinsonC. R. A., and AngelmarR. (1973), Metatheory and Consumer Research.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.