A Basic Bivariate Structure of Personality Attributes Evident Across Nine Languages

Abstract

Here, two studies seek to characterize a parsimonious common‐denominator personality structure with optimal cross‐cultural replicability. Personality differences are observed in all human populations and cultures, but lexicons for personality attributes contain so many distinctions that parsimony is lacking. Models stipulating the most important attributes have been formulated by experts or by empirical studies drawing on experience in a very limited range of cultures. Factor analyses of personality lexicons of nine languages of diverse provenance (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Turkish, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Maasai, and Senoufo) were examined, and their common structure was compared to that of several prominent models in psychology. A parsimonious bivariate model showed evidence of substantial convergence and ubiquity across cultures. Analyses involving key markers of these dimensions in English indicate that they are broad dimensions involving the overlapping content of the interpersonal circumplex, models of communion and agency, and morality/warmth and competence. These “Big Two” dimensions—Social Self‐Regulation and Dynamism—provide a common‐denominator model involving the two most crucial axes of personality variation, ubiquitous across cultures. The Big Two might serve as an umbrella model serving to link diverse theoretical models and associated research literatures.

Facets of the Fundamental Content Dimensions: Agency with Competence and Assertiveness—Communion with Warmth and Morality

“…While the majority of this work has been conducted with North American and Western European samples, there is some evidence that is consistent with the possibility that the A and C dimensions are culturally universal (Abele et al, 2008c; Ybarra et al, 2008; Saucier et al, 2014). …”

“…Although cultures differ in social orientation, preliminary evidence suggests that the fundamental content dimensions of A and C do emerge across cultures (Abele et al, 2008b; Ybarra et al, 2008; Bi et al, 2013; Abele, 2014; Saucier et al, 2014). To date there is, however, no evidence that the proposed distinction of AA, AC, CW, and CM can be reliably established across cultures.…”

Divergent personality structures of brown (Sapajus apella) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus).

“…Notably, studies of personality in humans and chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), who shared a common ancestor approximately six million years age (Glazko & Nei, 2003), have demonstrated that this period of time is long enough for differences in how personality traits are organized into dimensions to emerge (King & Figueredo, 1997). Human personality structure is largely seen to consist of five broad, universal dimensions labeled Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (Digman, 1990; McCrae, Terracciano, & 78 Members of the Personality Profiles of Cultures Project, 2005; Schmitt et al, 2007), though this view is not shared by all researchers (see, e.g., Gurven, von Rueden, Massenkoff, Kaplan, & Lero Vie, 2013; Saucier et al, 2013). Chimpanzee personality, on the other hand, is organized around five similar dimensions plus a sixth dimension, Dominance, that reflects a combination of assertiveness, low fear, competence, and intelligence (King & Figueredo, 1997).…”

Personality traits across countries: Support for similarities rather than differences

“…Conscientiousness), and dynamism (cf. Extraversion) have been replicated [17, 18, 19]. Such contrary findings continue to drive the scrutiny and testing of personality measurement [20].…”