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 | Â | Loadings |
|---|---|---|---|
Religiosity | To what degree | Â | |
|  | …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 | |
| Â | Religion is especially important to me because it answers many of my questions about the meaning of life. | 0.839 | |
| Â | 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 |
| Â | 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 | |
| Â | Evolutionary biology does not investigate testable ideas about the natural world | 0.807 | 0.258 |
| Â | Evolution means progression towards perfection | 0.391 | Â |
|  | Characteristics acquired during the lifetime of an organism are passed down to an individual’s offspring | 0.358 |  |
| Â | Evolution is a linear progression from primitive to advanced species. | 0.541 | Â |
| Â | In most populations, more offspring are born than can survive. | Â | 0.424 |
| Â | Mutations can be passed down to the next generation. | 0.218 | 0.568 |
| Â | Increased genetic variability makes a population more resistant to extinction. | 0.114 | 0.713 |
| Â | The more recently species share a common ancestor the more closely related they are. | 0.207 | 0.705 |
| Â | Mutations occur all the time. | 0.163 | 0.543 |