TITLE:
Nine Labels, Six Signals: Internal Consistency and Exploratory Factor Structure of the 35-Item Multiple Intelligences Profiling Questionnaire III among Undergraduates at a Ghanaian University
AUTHORS:
Aba Arthur-Sarfo, Juliana Dontoh, Regine Kwaw Nsiah, Prince Yaw Adofo, Inuusah Mahama
KEYWORDS:
Multiple Intelligences, MIPQ III, Psychometric Evaluation, Internal Consistency, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Ghana
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.17 No.11,
November
10,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: The 35-item Multiple Intelligences Profiling Questionnaire III (MIPQ III) provides scores for nine self-perceived domains, but their internal consistency and latent structure require contextual validation. Method: Responses from 613 volunteers at a Ghanaian university were analysed. After excluding two complete invariant records, 537 cases with all 35 item responses were available for principal-axis exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation. Parallel analysis used 1000 random permutations of the observed item distributions and compared full-correlation eigenvalues with their simulated 95th percentiles. Results: Internal consistency varied from α = 0.373 (linguistic) to α = 0.835 (musical). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index was 0.896. Full-correlation parallel analysis retained six factors. A reflective-environmental cluster combined intrapersonal, spiritual and environmental items, while musical, mathematical, interpersonal and practical-motor item clusters were more recognisable; a sixth factor contrasted two school-subject items. Two items showed cross-loadings of at least 0.30 on multiple factors. The six-factor retention decision persisted after limited missing-value imputation, although reduced common-factor parallel analysis favoured seven factors. In a forced nine-factor model, unconstrained matching showed that intrapersonal and spiritual items loaded strongly on a factor already allocated to the environmental domain. Conclusion: The nine domain scores exhibited unequal reliability and insufficient structural separation to warrant interpretation as nine independently measured abilities. The MIPQ III may be useful for exploratory self-perception research, but performance validation and cross-sample replication are needed.