The subject types in word association and their relationship to response styles and subscales of MMPI and WAIS

Abstract

In order to find subject types in word association and their relationship to response styles and subscales of MMPI and WAIS, two factor analyses of 32 subjects were conducted: an analysis in terms of the number of responses to each stimulus (Analysis I) and that of the coefficient of similarity between subjects for associated words to all stimuli (Analysis II). In Analysis I, five subject types were found: the active type with high arithmetical ability, the quiet type with high verbal ability, the singular type with high performance intelligence, the sensitive and rational type, and the extroverted. In Analysis II, seven subject types were found: the irresolute type with low verbal and high spatial abilities, the honest type, the type with high general intelligence, the sensitive and neurotic type, the type with low spatial ability, the quiet type with high mathematical ability, and the type with poor vocabulary. The validity of Analysis II seemed to be high because friends fell under common subject types of this analysis. In response styles, the number of responded verbs positively correlated with introversion and negatively with spatial ability, and that of nouns positively with general intelligence. These findings also suggested that the defensive attitude is related only to reaction time (Analysis I), and that the neurotic tendencies are indistinguishable from psychotic ones on the basis of reaction time because both were related to the same subject factor.