Mauchly Test

The Mauchly test (or Mauchly’s test) assesses the validity of the sphericity assumption that underlies repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Developed in 1940 by John W. Mauchly, an electrical engineer who codeveloped the first general-purpose computer, the Mauchly test is the default test of sphericity in several common statistical software programs. Provided the data are sampled from a multivariate normal population, a significant Mauchly test result indicates that the assumption of sphericity is untenable. This entry first explains the sphericity assumption and then describes the implementation and computation of the Mauchly test. The entry ends with a discussion of the test’s limitations and critiques.

The Sphericity Assumption

The sphericity assumption is the assumption that the difference scores of paired levels of the repeated measures factor have ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles