Komplexität modellieren

The present study aims at disclosing a methodological prejudice which has misled factor analysis since its beginning. Simple structure, the guiding principle for factor rotation (Thurstone, 1935/1947), is regarded as a questionable dogma. The Thurstone principle impedes the discovery of latent sources of variance on which manifest empirical variables are based. This criticism is elucidated by theoretical considerations and by verbatim quotations of critical authors. The present calamity of factorial research is deemed to be due to general flaws of methodical reasoning. One-sided mathematical formalization in the discipline has lost its objectives by ignoring ordinary sources of knowledge and linguistic processing. The problem of simple structure cannot be solved by circumplex- and structural equation procedures which suffer from the same flaws as simple structure modelling. A paradigm change is overdue. An alternative factor transformation modeling complex structures is demanded, it will be delineated in chapter 2. This chapter is a sequel of chapter 1 (Ertel, 2009) in which varimax, the procedure of factor rotation commonly used to generate simple structure, is replaced with varim