The Role of Expectations in Investigating Multitrait-Multimethod Matrices by Procrustes Rotation

Four types of matrices of expectations which serve as targets in Procrustes rotation are presented and investigated. These types were matrices with trait expectations, matrices with trait and method expectations, matrices with trait and method expectations which are independent of each other and matrices with trait and method expectations which are adjusted and independent of each other. All the matrices with trait and method expectations are expected to separate trait influences from method influences. Procrustes rotation with these matrices as target was applied to multitraitmultimethod matrices. The results demonstrate that trait expectations are not always sufficient for the identification of trait influences. The additional consideration of method expectations improved the results. The matrix with trait and method expectations as target led to the best results.