A Nontechnical Introduction to the Taxometric Method

Abstract

Although social and behavioral scientists often presume that individual differences underlying measured variables consist of differences in degree rather than differences in kind, the distinction between taxonic (categorical) and dimensional (continuous) latent structure poses an empirical question with important implications for basic and applied science. In this article, we present a nontechnical introduction to the taxometric method for assessing latent structure. We outline unique features of the general approach and then describe and illustrate specific taxometric procedures, emphasizing the conceptual logic of each analytic technique, factors that can influence results and their interpretation, and decisions that must be made to implement each procedure most appropriately and powerfully. We present a number of refinements and extensions to taxometric methodology including a useful interpretive aid based on the parallel analysis of simulated taxonic and dimensional comparison data. We focus on practi...