A theory of states and traits--revised

We present a revision of latent state-trait (LST-R) theory with new definitions of states and traits. This theory applies whenever we study the consistency of behavior, its variability, and its change over time. States and traits are defined in terms of probability theory. This allows for a seamless...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of clinical psychology Vol. 11; p. 71
Main Authors: Steyer, Rolf, Mayer, Axel, Geiser, Christian, Cole, David A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.01.2015
Subjects:
Behavior
Humans
Models, Psychological
Psychological Tests
Psychological Theory
classical test theory
traits
person concept
latent variables
states
ISSN:1548-5951, 1548-5951
Online Access:Get more information
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present a revision of latent state-trait (LST-R) theory with new definitions of states and traits. This theory applies whenever we study the consistency of behavior, its variability, and its change over time. States and traits are defined in terms of probability theory. This allows for a seamless transition from theory to statistical modeling of empirical data. LST-R theory not only gives insights into the nature of latent variables but it also takes into account four fundamental facts: Observations are fallible, they never happen in a situational vacuum, they are always made using a specific method of observations, and there is no person without a past. Although the first fact necessitates considering measurement error, the second fact requires allowances for situational fluctuations. The third fact implies that, in the first place, states and traits are method specific. Furthermore, compared to the previous version of LST theory (see, e.g., Steyer et al. 1992 , 1999 ), our revision is based on the notion of a person-at-time-t. The new definitions in LST-R theory have far-reaching implications that not only concern the properties of states, traits, and the associated concepts of measurement errors and state residuals, but also are related to the analysis of states and traits in longitudinal observational and intervention studies.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ISSN:1548-5951
1548-5951
DOI:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153719