Improving hierarchical models of individual differences: An extension of Goldberg’s bass-ackward method.
Miriam K. Forbes
Abstract
levels of the hierarchy: (a) identify and remove redundant elements that perpetuate through multiple levels of the hierarchy; (b) (optionally) identify and remove artefactual elements; and (c) plot the strongest correlations among the remaining elements to identify their hierarchical associations. Together these steps can offer a simpler and more complete picture of the underlying hierarchical structure among a set of observed variables. The rationale for each step is described, illustrated in a hypothetical example and three basic simulations, and then applied in real data. The results are compared with the traditional bass-ackward approach together with agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis, and a basic tutorial with code is provided to apply the extended bass-ackward approach in other data. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).