Tandem Criteria for Analytic Rotation in Factor Analysis

Two related orthogonal analytic rotation criteria for factor analysis are proposed. Criterion I is based upon the principle that variables which appear on the same factor should be correlated. Criterion II is based upon the principle that variables which are uncorrelated should not appear on the same factor. The recommended procedure is to rotate first by criterion I, eliminate the minor factors, and then rerotate the remaining major factors by criterion II. An example is presented in which this procedure produced a rotational solution very close to expectations whereas a varimax solution exhibited certain distortions. A computer program is provided.