Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Imaginative Capability Scale

Abstract

Three studies were combined to test the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the imaginative capability scale (ICS). The ICS was a new self-report measure, which was developed to be empirically valid and easy to administer. Study 1 consisted in an exploratory factor analysis to determine the most appropriate structure of the ICS in a sample of 529 college students (serving as the calibration sample). A 3-factor solution was used to identify initiating, conceiving, and transforming dimensions of imaginative capability. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in Study 2 to confirm the established structure in a sample of 584 college students (serving as the validation sample). Both composite reliability and construct validity (including convergent validity and discriminant validity) analyses gave the instrument good support as a whole. Study 3 was conducted to further test the degree of measurement invariance of the ICS across 2 different groups. The first group consisted of 512 college students from design programs, whereas the second group was composed of 523 college students from engineering programs. The three-factor model of the ICS was confirmed across different domains among Taiwanese college students.

Acknowledgments

The current study is part of the research project (NSC100-2511-S-155-005-MY2) supported by Taiwan's National Science Council. Theauthors would like to acknowledge Wei-Sheng Lin for his valuable contributionsin statistical analysis. The authors would also like to extendtheir gratitude to the insightful suggestions of anonymous Creativity Research Journal reviewers.