Assessing the Circular Structure of the Portrait Values Questionnaire A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach

The current research is an assessment of both the psychometric properties and circumplex structure of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ; Schwartz, Melech, Lehmann, Burgess, & Harris, 2001). First, the hypothesized 10-factor structure was examined within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Next, we assessed the circular structure postulated by the human values theory through constrained CFA. Data were obtained from 9,847 participants. Findings corroborated the distinctiveness of the 10 basic value types and their quasicircular arrangement: Factors derived from the PVQ scale were arranged in a circle similar to the theorized structure of values, although some differences emerged between empirical and theoretical models.