A Trait Conceptualization of Reward-Reactivity
Psychometric Properties of the Appetitive Motivation Scale (AMS)
Abstract
The Appetitive Motivation Scale (AMS; Jackson & Smillie, 2004) represents a recent attempt to conceptualize individual differences in the functioning of Grays (1981) Behavioral Activation/Approach System (BAS). In this paper we subject the AMS to psychometric scrutiny via factor analysis, item response theory (IRT) analysis, and concurrent construct validation. In Study 1 (N = 1,366 university students, 53% male), results from factor analysis (FA) and IRT led to the removal of several problematic items from the scale. The revised AMS was shown to have improved unidimensional structure and item properties. In Study 2 (N = 122 university students, 20% male), correlational data and factor analysis indicated that the revised AMS was: (1) highly related to the original scale along with various BAS-related measures, and (2) more strongly related to a reward-reactivity factor than an impulsivity factor, relative to other putative BAS measures. We conclude that the improved AMS is a promising tool for future research.
References
2006). Impulsivity: A review. Psicothema, 18, 213–220.
(2001). The basics of item response theory. College Park, MD: ERIC University of Maryland.
(1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.
(1991). The mesolimbic dopamine system as a model brain reward system. In P. Willner J. Scheel-Krüger, Eds., The mesolimbic dopamine system: From motivation to action (pp. 301–330). London: Wiley.
(1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K.A. Bollen J.S. Long, Eds., Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
(2004). Negative affects deriving from the behavioral approach system. Emotion, 4, 3–22.
(1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 319–333.
(2003). The measurement of individual differences in Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation Systems: A comparison of personality scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 999–1013.
(2006). A psychometric evaluation of behavioral inhibition and approach self-report measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1649–1658.
(2007). The Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Approach System (BIS/BAS) Scales: Measurement and structural invariance across adults and adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 295–305.
(2001). Testing problems in J.A. Grays personality theory: A commentary on Matthews and Gilliland (1999). Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 333–352.
(2008). The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
(1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1, 16–29.
(2007). Nucleus accumbens D2/3 receptors predict trait impulsivity and cocaine reinforcement. Science, 315, 1267–1270.
(2006). Interpersonal behavior and the structure of personality. In , Biology of personality and individual differences (pp. 60–92). London: Guildford.
(1999). Neurobiology of the structure of personality: Dopamine, facilitation of incentive motivation, and extraversion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 491–569.
(1990). Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity: Personality and cognitive correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 95–102.
(2000). Item response theory for psychologists. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
(1999). Varieties of impulsivity. Psychopharmacology, 146, 348–361.
(1991). The Eysenck Personality Scales. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
(1985). Age norms for impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy in adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 6, 613–619.
(2005). An item response theory analysis of the Carver and White (1994) BIS/BAS scales. Personality & Individual Differences, 39(6), 1093–1103.
(1970). The psychophysiological basis of introversion-extraversion. Behavior Research and Therapy, 8, 249–266.
(1973). Causal models of personality and how to test them. In , Multivariate analysis and psychological theory (pp. 409–463). London: Academic Press.
(1981). A critique of Eysencks theory of personality. In , A model for personality (pp. 246–276). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
(1991). The neuropsychology of temperament. In J. Strelau A. Angleitner, Eds., Explorations in temperament: International perspectives on theory and measurement. Perspectives on individual differences (pp. 105–128). New York: Plenum.
(2000). The neuropsychology of anxiety. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
(1983). Psychological and physiological relations between anxiety and impulsivity. In , The biological basis of sensation seeking, impulsivity and anxiety (pp. 181–217). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
(1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179–185.
(1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.
(2005). An applied neuropsychological model of functional and dysfunctional learning: Applications for business, education, training, and clinical psychology. Brisbane, Australia: Cymeon.
(in press ). Measurement of functional and dysfunctional learning. In G. Boyle G. Matthews D. Saklofske, Eds., Handbook of personality and testing. New York: Sage.2004). Appetitive motivation predicts the majority of personality and an ability measure: A comparison of BAS measures and a re-evaluation of the importance of RST. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1627–1636.
(2006). FACTOR: A program to fit the exploratory factor analysis model. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 38, 88–91.
(1999). The personality theories of H.J. Eysenck and J.A. Gray: A comparative review. Personality and Individual Differences, 26, 583–626.
(2004). Reward sensitivity in impulsivity. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology, 15, 1519–1522.
(2006). MPlus 4.2. Los Angeles: Muthen & Muthen.
(2000). SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicers MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 32, 396–402.
(2004). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Personality & Individual Differences, 37, 985–1002.
(1965). Drives, rewards, and the brain. In , New directions in psychology (pp. 327–410). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
(2004). The neuropsychology of impulsive antisocial sensation seeking personality traits: From dopamine to hippocampal function? In , On the psychobiology of personality: Essays in honour of Marvin Zuckerman (pp. 455–478). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
(1997). Individual differences in reactions to reinforcing stimuli are neither black nor white: To what extent are they Gray? In , The scientific study of human nature (pp. 36–67). Amsterdam: Pergamon/Elsevier.
(1999). The neuroscience of personality. In L. Pervin O. John, Eds., Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp. 277–299). New York: Guilford.
(2004). The assessment of behavioral activation – The relationship between impulsivity and behavior activation. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 429–442.
(2003). A discussion of modern versus traditional psychometrics as applied to personality assessment scales. Journal of Personality Assessment, 81, 93–103.
(2001). Invariance on the NEO PI-R neuroticism scale. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 36, 83–110.
(2008). The contribution of reinforcement sensitivity theory to personality theory. In , The reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality (pp. 508–527). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
(1981). The measurement of extraversion: A comparison of the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. British Journal of Social Psychology, 20, 279–284.
(2007). Psychometric properties of an emotional adjustment measure: An application of the graded response model. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23, 39–46.
(1969). Estimation of latent ability using a response pattern of graded scores. Psychometrika Monograph Supplement, 34(4), 100.
(2007). Distinguishing between learning and motivation in behavioral tests of the reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 476–489.
(2005). The Appetitive Motivation Scale and other BAS measures in the prediction of approach and active avoidance. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 981–994.
(2006). Functional impulsivity and reinforcement sensitivity theory. Journal of Personality, 74, 47–83.
J (2006). Conceptual distinctions among Carver and Whites (1994) BAS scales: A reward-reactivity versus trait impulsivity perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1039–1050.
(2006). The new reinforcement sensitivity theory: Implications for personality measurement. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 320–335.
(1990). Structural model evaluation and modification. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173–180.
(1995). Item response theory in personality research. In P.E. Shrout S.T. Fiske, Eds., Personality research, methods, and theory: A festschrift honoring Donald W. Fiske (pp. 161–181). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
(2003). Multilog 7. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
(2001). The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire as a measure of Grays anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 837–862.
(1976). Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlations. Psychometrika, 41, 321–327.
(2007). Impulsivity and decision making in the balloon analog risk-taking task. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 37–46.
(