A note on alternative methods for estimating factor scores

Factor scores may be estimated by assigning each variable (in standard score form) a weight of unity with the sign of the loading, or a weight equal to the factor loadings of the variables. In an empirical comparison based on a factorization of a battery of 104 personality measures, for six factors the correlations between factor scores estimated from unit weights and from factor-loading weights were all .9 or higher. This result could be expected from consideration of the behavior of correlation between weighted composites. "It may be concluded, then, that in most instances there is little gained by the use of fractional weights."