Compulsivity as a moderator variable: A replication and extension

Abstract

Replicated and extended earlier studies which found that 2 indirect measures of compulsivity (the Strong Accountant scale and a ratio score of reading speed to vocabulary) moderated the correlations of other Strong interest scales with grade-point average (GPA) for male engineering freshmen—the correlations were higher for the less compulsive students. In the present study, the 2 compulsivity variables did not moderate the correlations of the Strong scales with freshman-year GPA for liberal arts students of either sex, although they did for men in the engineering program. The compulsivity variables were not significantly correlated, they did not moderate the same interest scales, and their joint use did not enhance the moderator effect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)