| Preface | p. xi |
| Introduction and Background | |
| Introduction | p. 3 |
| Plan of the Book | p. 4 |
| Conceptual Background | p. 5 |
| Distinguishing Between Taxa and Dimensions | p. 8 |
| Some Possible Misunderstandings About Taxa and Dimensions | p. 9 |
| Conclusions | p. 17 |
| Why Latent Structure Matters | p. 18 |
| Classification | p. 19 |
| Diagnosis | p. 22 |
| Assessment | p. 25 |
| Research | p. 27 |
| Causal Explanations | p. 30 |
| Lay Conceptions of Important Constructs | p. 32 |
| Conclusions | p. 34 |
| The Classification Problem | p. 35 |
| The Classification Problem | p. 36 |
| Bimodality | p. 37 |
| Finite Mixture Modeling | p. 45 |
| Cluster Analysis | p. 47 |
| Latent Class Analysis | p. 49 |
| Dimcat | p. 50 |
| Searching for Multiple Boundaries | p. 51 |
| The Taxometric Method | p. 54 |
| Inferential Frameworks for the Taxometric Method | p. 58 |
| Conclusions | p. 61 |
| Taxometric Method | |
| Data Requirements for Taxometrics | p. 65 |
| Sampling Considerations | p. 66 |
| Indicator Considerations | p. 72 |
| Evaluating the Data by Generating Empirical Sampling Distributions | p. 79 |
| Conclusions | p. 85 |
| Taxometric Procedures I: Maxslope, Mambac, and L-Mode | p. 87 |
| MAXSLOPE | p. 89 |
| MAMBAC | p. 102 |
| L-Mode | p. 116 |
| Conclusions | p. 121 |
| Taxometric Procedures II: MAXCOV and MAXEIG | p. 122 |
| The General Covariance Mixture Theorem | p. 123 |
| MAXCOV | p. 123 |
| MAXEIG | p. 136 |
| Evaluating the Accuracy of the Base Rate Classification Technique | p. 146 |
| Blending Elements of the Traditional MAXCOV and MAXEIG Procedures | p. 148 |
| Conclusions | p. 158 |
| Consistency Tests | p. 161 |
| Performing Taxometric Procedures Multiple Times in Multiple Ways | p. 162 |
| Examining Latent Parameters and Classified Cases | p. 171 |
| Assessing Model Fit | p. 185 |
| A Monte Carlo Study of MAXCOV Consistency Tests | p. 195 |
| Conclusions | p. 203 |
| Interpretational Issues | p. 206 |
| Graphing and Presentation of Taxometric Results | p. 207 |
| The Influence of Indicator Skew | p. 218 |
| The Influences of Indicator Validity and Within-Group Correlations | p. 223 |
| Interpretational Safeguards | p. 228 |
| Conclusions | p. 239 |
| A Taxometric Checklist | p. 241 |
| Is a Taxometric Analysis Scientifically Justified? | p. 242 |
| Are the Data Appropriate for Taxometric Analysis? | p. 244 |
| Has a Sufficient Variety of Procedures Been Implemented Properly? | p. 252 |
| Have the Results Been Presented and Interpreted Appropriately? | p. 255 |
| Are Implications of the Findings Clearly Articulated? | p. 258 |
| Conclusions | p. 259 |
| Applications and Future Directions | |
| Applications of the Taxometric Method | p. 263 |
| The Latent Structure of Psychopathology | p. 264 |
| Normal Personality | p. 273 |
| Other Latent Variables | p. 276 |
| Overview of the Substantive Findings | p. 277 |
| Implementation of the Taxometric Method | p. 279 |
| Conclusions | p. 286 |
| The Future of Taxometrics | p. 287 |
| Constructs in Traditional Domains Requiring Further Study | p. 288 |
| New Domains for Taxometric Investigation | p. 291 |
| New Research Questions to Be Addressed Using Taxometrics | p. 297 |
| Methodological Issues for Further Study | p. 304 |
| Conclusions | p. 311 |
| Simulating Taxonic and Dimensional Comparison Data | p. 312 |
| Estimating Latent Parameters and Classifying Cases Using MAXCOV | p. 321 |
| Estimating the Taxon Base Rate Using MAXEIG | p. 323 |
| References | p. 326 |
| Author Index | p. 337 |
| Subject Index | p. 343 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
