Reading interests: Their dimensionality and correlation with personality and cognitive factors

Abstract

How do individual differences in reading interests relate to personality traits and cognitive abilities? USAF airmen ( N = 471) responded to the 16PF, the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), and a reading interest survey that asked them to rate their level of interest in each of 81 topics. Factor analysis resulted in 10 correlated reading interest factors. Reading interest factor scores were then related to six factors (the Big Five plus intelligence) found to underlie the 16PF and CFIT. In general, reading interests and personality factors were only modestly related (38% of coefficients were significant, mean standardized path coefficient = 0.25, mean R = 0.43). The exceptions were mechanical and wildlife, hunting and fishing, which had strong negative correlations with agreeableness. Factor analysis of the four subtests of the CFIT and the ten subtests of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery resulted in five factors. Ability factors interpreted as crystallized abilities showed moderate relationships with reading interests (43% of coefficients were significant, mean standardized path coefficient = 0.42, mean R = 0.53). We conclude that reading interests largely reflect crystallized abilities.