Table 4 Factor analysis for Religiosity and Evolution Understanding
From: Factors influencing minority student decisions to consider a career in evolutionary biology
| General construct | Item | Loadings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religiosity | To what degree | ||
| …are you religious | 0.971 | ||
| …does your religion influence your decisions? | 0.864 | ||
| …do you participate in religious activities? | 0.921 | ||
| …is the following statement true? I believe in god(s) | 0.694 | ||
| Religion is especially important to me because it answers many of my questions about the meaning of life. | 0.839 | ||
| Item | Factor 1 Loadings | Factor 2 Loadings | |
| Evolution Understanding | The genetics of a population of organisms remains the same over time | 0.545 | 0.17 |
| Evolution cannot ever be observed because it happens over very long periods of time. | 0.778 | 0.184 | |
| Evolution is generally only observable in organisms that take less than a day to reproduce. | 0.673 | 0.187 | |
| Evolutionary biology does not investigate testable ideas about the natural world | 0.807 | 0.258 | |
| Evolution means progression towards perfection | 0.391 | ||
| Characteristics acquired during the lifetime of an organism are passed down to an individual’s offspring | 0.358 | ||
| Evolution is a linear progression from primitive to advanced species. | 0.541 | ||
| In most populations, more offspring are born than can survive. | 0.424 | ||
| Mutations can be passed down to the next generation. | 0.218 | 0.568 | |
| Increased genetic variability makes a population more resistant to extinction. | 0.114 | 0.713 | |
| The more recently species share a common ancestor the more closely related they are. | 0.207 | 0.705 | |
| Mutations occur all the time. | 0.163 | 0.543 | |