On the Use of Latent Variable Models to Detect Differences in the Interpretation of Vague Quantifiers

This study explores whether latent variable models may be used to detect individual variability in the interpretation of vague quantifiers of behavioral frequency. Using data from an experiment embedded in the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement, the current study finds that differential interpretation may be best represented as variability between latent interpretation classes. These analyses illustrate how a researcher might use certain latent variable models to extract a methodological artifact—differential interpretation—from measurement models intended to be purely substantive.