A Factor Analysis of Verbal Abilities

A multiple-factor analysis was made of a battery of 42 tests of verbal abilities administered to 119 college adults. Where necessary, the distributions of test scores were normalized before the inter-test correlations were computed. Thurstone's M (Memory or Rote Learning) factor has been confirmed, but his V (Verbal Relations) factor seems to have been split into two or possibly three factors, C , J , and G ; and his W (Word Fluency) factor has been split into two factors, A and E . The C factor seems to represent the richness of the individual's stock of linguistic responses, and the J factor seems to involve the ability to handle semantic relationships. No satisfactory interpretation can as yet be made of the G factor. The A factor seems to correspond to the speed of association for common words where there is a high degree of restriction as to appropriate responses. The E factor is described as an associational facility with verbal material where the only restriction is that the responses must be syntactically coherent. The new factors are: F , facility and fluency in oral speech; H , facility in attaching appropriate names or symbols to stimuli; and D , speed of articulatory movements.