Researchers Were Interested in Identifying the Number of Factors Underlying

Multiple Choice

Researchers were interested in identifying the number of factors underlying a 6 item survey. The factor loadings are given below. How would you characterize the loadings on the first factor?

A) The first factor was characterized by near-zero loadings from items X1, X2, and X3 and weak positive loadings from items X4, X5, and X6.
B) The first factor was characterized by strong negative loadings from items X1, X2, and X3 and near-zero loadings from items X4, X5, and X6.
C) The first factor was characterized by near-zero loadings from items X1, X2, and X3 and strong positive loadings from items X4, X5, and X6.
D) The first factor was characterized by moderate positive loadings from X1, X2, and X3 and moderate negative loadings from items X4, X5, and X6.