Abstract
Mixed-worded survey scales are commonly used to ensure respondent attentiveness. Respondents need to switch response scales according to the wording direction (i.e., positive or negative wording) when answering an item. However, some respondents tend to deliver inconsistent responses (i.e., agreeing or disagreeing with both positively and negatively worded items) on such mixed-worded items in practice, which poses a validity concern. Recent research has proposed two potential directions of individual determinants driving inconsistent responding: cognitive abilities and personality traits. Due to low cognitive abilities, some respondents might be less effective in providing consistent responses. As for personality traits, some respondents might be careless due to low conscientiousness. The study contributes to simultaneously investigating the roles of both in inconsistent responding from an individual-centered perspective. Adopting a factor mixture analysis model, inconsistent responding was investigated as a function of individuals’ cognitive ability and personality, among n = 4,938 Grade 5 students from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). 11% of the students were classified as inconsistent responders on Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, and their class memberships were further related to four cognitive abilities (cognitive reasoning, cognitive speed, reading comprehension, reading speed) and five personality traits (conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness). In general, the model comparison indicated that both ability and personality predictors matter with a more prominent role for ability (especially reading comprehension). The implications for the use of mixed-worded scales and future research directions are discussed.