Development and Validation of the Japanese-Translated Version of the Personal Need for Structure Scale

Abstract

Personal need for structure (PNS) refers to individual differences in tendency to structure huge amounts of information into a simplified form, and was frequently examined in previous research in association with strategies for reducing cognitive load and with creativity. The present research developed a new Japanese-translated version of the PNS Scale (PNS-J) and conducted two surveys with samples of Japanese university students to validate the PNS-J. Study 1 (<i>N</i> = 244) examined internal consistency and factor structure of the PNS-J. Although the Response to Lack of Structure subscale and the total 11 items had sufficient internal consistency (α = .73, .76, respectively), the Desire for Structure subscale had a smaller value for internal consistency (α = .55). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the two-factor model of the PNS-J fit the data better than the one-factor model, as shown in the studies that validated the original PNS Scale. Study 2 conducted assessments at two time points (T1 and T2) to examine correlations between the PNS-J and other related variables, and to evaluate test-retest reliability of the PNS-J with a 4-week interval. Analyses using the T1 dataset (<i>N</i> = 354) provided convergent evidence of validity with big-five personality traits and discriminant evidence with need for cognition. Analyses using both the T1 and the T2 dataset (<i>N</i> = 245) showed that both the Desire for Structure subscale (r = .67, p < .001, 95% CI [.60, .72]) and the Response to Lack of Structure subscale (r = .80, p < .001, 95% CI [.76, .83]) had acceptable test-retest reliability. These findings from the present research supported that the PNS-J was mostly comparable to the original PNS Scale. The PNS-J may contribute to future research on strategies for reducing cognitive load and on creativity in Japan, with a focus on individual differences.