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Advancing the Psychometric Study of Human Life History Indicators

K Does Not Measure Life History Speed, but Theory and Evidence Suggest It Deserves Further Attention

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Abstract

In this article we attend to recent critiques of psychometric applications of life history (LH) theory to variance among humans and develop theory to advance the study of latent LH constructs. We then reanalyze data (n = 4,244) previously examined by Richardson et al. (Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1), 2017, https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916666840 to determine whether (a) previously reported evidence of multidimensionality is robust to the modeling approach employed and (b) the structure of LH indicators is invariant by sex. Findings provide further evidence that a single LH dimension is implausible and that researchers should cease interpreting K-factor scores as empirical proxies for LH speed. In contrast to the original study, we detected a small inverse correlation between mating competition and Super-K that is consistent with a trade-off. Tests of measurement invariance across the sexes revealed evidence of metric invariance (i.e., equivalence of factor loadings), consistent with the theory that K is a proximate cause of its indicators; however, evidence of partial scalar invariance suggests use of scores likely introduces bias when the sexes are compared. We discuss limitations and identify approaches that researchers may use to further evaluate the validity of the K-factor and other applications of LH to human variation.

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Notes

  1. There are 21 scores total because two indicators selected in the original study are two-dimensional.

  2. Measurement invariance testing via multiple groups structural equation modeling (SEM) is closely related to MIMIC modeling. If strict scalar invariance by sex holds for the K-factor in the former approach (i.e., all loadings and intercepts invariant), then there will be no direct effects of sex on K-factor indicators in the latter approach, as well as no moderation of K-factor loadings by sex. In a MIMIC model containing the K-factor, direct effects on reflective indicators of K would represent evidence of scalar noninvariance, or that intercepts vary by sex. By entering a K × sex interaction term into the MIMIC model, researchers can also test whether sex appears to moderate effects of K on its indicators. Moderation by sex, in this case, is evidence of metric noninvariance or that loadings vary between the sexes. Multiple groups SEM offers several advantages beyond MIMIC models, including the possibility of testing for differences in variances between groups and more straightforward testing for differences in loadings and covariances.

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Acknowledgments

Publically available data from the MIDUS study was used for this research. Since 1995, the MIDUS study has been funded by the following: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network, National Institute on Aging (P01-AG020166), and National Institute on Aging (U19-AG051426).

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Richardson, G.B., McGee, N. & Copping, L.T. Advancing the Psychometric Study of Human Life History Indicators . Hum Nat 32, 363–386 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-021-09398-5

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