Alphas):
Items: Coefficient
Alphas:
F1 Perseverance
(.827)
Q1: I'm NOT a liar or a cheater. (Honesty)
Q6: Even when it gets hard, I stick with an important task and get it done.
.415
.788
Q7: I am responsible, consistent, and my friends and family know they can depend on me.
(Responsibility)
Q9: Even when I fail, I keep trying until I find a way to succeed.
Q10: Even when discouraged and tired, I keep going until I finish the task.
Q24: I follow through with my plans until the task is finished.
Q82: Once I start a difficult task, I am determined to finish it.
Q19: When I am at fault, I'm humble enough to admit I was wrong.
Q20: I DON'T act like I'm better than others or should get special favors.
Q25: I can wait for what I want and not demand to get it right away. (Self-Control)
Q31: When I make mistakes, I am honest enough to admit them. (Honesty)
Q36: I am relaxed and calm even when I'm busy. (Peace)
Q38: I DON'T have to brag or tell everyone when I do something good.
Q40: When someone hurts me, I DON'T get bitter or hate them for it. (Forgiveness)
.491
.524 F3 Optimism
(.809)
Q16: I am optimistic and hopeful. I believe I can overcome my problems. (Hope)
Q17: I am passionate about life and have joy, even in the hard times. (Joy)
Q18: I am enthusiastic about life and motivated to be and do my best. (Joy)
Q35: I enjoy my life and my smile is genuine.
(Joy)
Q3: I enjoy being helpful and doing nice things for others. (Care)
Q4: I'm happy for others when they are successful or receive praise. (Humility)
Q5: I stand up for people if others are being mean to them. (Courage)
.554
.485
.859
Q15: When someone helps me, I am grateful and let them know. (Gratitude)
Q21: When I see someone upset or hurting, I want to do something to help them. (Care)
Q39: When someone is really in need and I can help them, I do. (Care) honest in my words and actions. (Honesty)
Q47: When I find a friend I enjoy and can trust, we become close. (Love)
Q49: I am loyal to those who know me well and are close to me. (Cooperation)
.588
.919
.813 F6 Peace
(.742)
[Q29: When in conflict with someone, I am good at working it out.] (Cooperation)
Q51: I am patient and remain calm, even when others are trying to make me mad.
Q53: I can deal with negative people because my joy doesn't come from them but from within.
Q54: When something bad happens, I can calm myself down and work through it.
[.385]
.746
.825
.657
F7 Courage
(.673)
Q22: When a crisis is happening, I can think clearly and take action rather than get scared.
Q23: It takes a lot to scare me or make me
Q12: I understand consequences: What will happen later due to the choices I make today.
Q14: I live by the belief that life has a deeper meaning and greater purpose than just having fun. (Spirituality)
Q27: I am wise, can figure out the right thing to do, and make good decisions.
Q81: I can tell if I can trust someone.
Q32: I am a spiritual person with a strong sense of my connection to God and/or humanity.
Q37: I feel or sense things on a deeper level than just emotions, on a spiritual level.
Q50: Prayer, meditation, or reflection is important to me.
Q34: When someone hurts me, I don't trust them but can work through it and forgive them in time
.676
Perseverance factored first with 7 items that included two from other traits.
Another name for this trait could be Discipline or Responsibility that involve perseverance, self-control, determination, and some aspects of honesty and courage (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007; Park & Peterson, 2009; Peterson &
Seligman, 2004).
F2 Humility factored strongly due to its inclusivity. Its three items drew in four others intended to measure Self-Control, Peace, Honesty, and Forgiveness. Though the second strongest factor, F2 was carefully reviewed due to (a) its diversity, (b) its highest item alpha was from the Self-Control item, and (c) two of the three Humility items factored weakly or were borderline.
F3 Optimism is named so because it continued the trend begun in CGM where Hope and Joy items factored together. EFA indicates these should be one trait.
F4 Care had three Care items and was also very inclusive with items intending to measure Humility, Courage, and Gratitude. When viewed collectively, the best
interpretation of this factor could be Kindness. The original conceptualization of Care mentioned kindness and two original items use the word “kind” though neither factored here.
A very interesting convergence involves F5’s factoring and non-factoring items.
The highest alpha is for a Love item that mentions closeness and trust. The other two factoring items were intended to measure Honesty and Cooperation. The latter also mentions closeness. Four other items correlate to F5:
• Q8: I can resist temptation to do the wrong thing, even if it would be fun. This Self-Control item scored well with F5 (.591) but also double-factored (.369) with F3 Optimism.
• Q26: I come to class prepared and ready to work. This Responsibility item likewise would have factored with F5 (.489) but also double-factored (.400) with F2 Humility.
• Q28: Even toward people I disagree with or don't like, I am fair and respectful.
This Respect item almost factored with F5 at .392.
• Q41: I am polite and courteous to others, not rude or mean. This Care item had its highest alpha (.343) in F5.
Love, Honesty, and Cooperation items factored and Self-Control, Honesty, Respect, and Care items were highly correlated. Conceptually it is consistent that all these items are involved in Love and Kindness. This factor was carefully reviewed to contribute to the next CVI iteration.
F6 Peace is similarly intriguing. This trait was barely present in the Character Taxonomy, identified only by Lickona and Davidson (2005) and rating 22nd of 28 identified traits only due to correlation with Character Counts’ trait of patience
(Josephson, 2011) and the Developmental Asset of personal power (Lerner et al., 2005).
It was included in CGM due to the researcher’s theory that peace was not primarily an outcome but a complex, skill-based trait. Conceptualized as correlating with self-regulation and transcendence, Peace was included in the Transcendence category. The
initial CGM Peace items reflected its connection with both self-regulation and transcendence:
1. I am patient and remain calm, even when others are trying to make me mad.
2. I am relaxed and calm even when I'm busy.
3. When something bad happens, I can calm myself down and work through it.
In CGM, these items all factored: The second with Perseverance, the third with Optimism, and the first double-factored with both. In CVI 2, the fifth factor was named Peace and shows great diversity. Three items factored: The first and third Peace items together with one intended to measure joy: “I can deal with negative people because my joy doesn't come from them but from within.”
To further complicate this concept, (a) the second Peace item scored .388 with F2 Humility, indicating some correlation but not enough to factor with it; and (b) items intending to measure Self-Control, Wisdom, and Hope double-factored because of high coefficient alphas (.340-.420) with the Peace factor. This factor’s conceptualization and items were reviewed and revised for the next CVI iteration.
The last four factors are more straightforward. Only F8 Wisdom includes an unintended item. Non-factoring items were reviewed and revised and new items added for the next CVI iteration.
Interestingly three items each from hypothesized traits Honesty and Joy factored but not together. Instead of producing their own factor, Honesty teamed with
Perseverance, Humility, and Social Intelligence while Joy’s items factored with
Optimism, Kindness, and Peace. Honesty was reviewed, subjected to expert opinion and
further literature review, revised, and gained new items. Joy was determined to join with Hope to comprise Optimism.
Comparing CGM and CVI 2 factors. As anticipated, CVI 2 factored a bit
differently than CGM yet was consistent with the earlier survey. Six of the seven CGM factors were retained with only F4 Integrity’s items absorbed by Perseverance and a new factor. Of F4’s 6 items, 3 factored with CVI 2 F1 Perseverance, one joined the new F8 Wisdom, and two did not factor.
Table 2.10. Comparison of CGM Factors to CVI 2 Factors