The problem of assigning empirical meaning to unobserved variables in structural equation models is discussed. Interpretational confounding is discussed as the assignment of the other than a priori assigned empirical meaning of an unobserved variable. Hypotheses conceming the possibility of...

The confirmatory factor-analytic model of analysis is discussed in terms of the general process of constructing social theory-the generation of parameter estimates for a proposed structure, the assessment of a proposed structure, the interpretation of a proposed structure, and example...