Is Item Overlap Responsible for a “Built-in” Factor Structure?

Abstract

3 sets of empirical data, 2 from samples of college students and 1 from a sample of psychopathic felons, were factored, along with correlations based solely on the number of overlapping items in the Personal Orientation Inventory. The factor structure found in the item-overlap correlations closely resembled that found in the empirical data, but whether this “built-in” factor structure is attributable to item overlap per se appears to be an unanswerable question.