Niche diversity predicts personality structure across 115 nations

Abstract

The niche diversity hypothesis proposes that personality structure arises from the affordances of unique trait-combinations within a society. Prior tests of the hypothesis in 55 nations suffer from potential confounds associated with differences in the measurement properties of personality scales across groups. Using recently developed psychometric methods for the approximation of cross-national measurement invariance, we test the niche diversity hypothesis in a novel sample of 115 nations (N = 685,089). Niche diversity was robustly related to both inter-factor covariance and personality dimensionality but was not consistently related to intra-factor variance across nations. These findings generally bolster the core of the niche diversity hypothesis, demonstrating the contingency of human personality structure on socioecological contexts.

Morality Beyond the WEIRD: How the Nomological Network of Morality Varies Across Cultures

“…The relationship between these two constructs can be in itself an interesting question as well. For example, based on recent work in formal computational modeling of ecological niche, it can be the case that availability of diverse socioecological niches to individuals within societies (i.e., more complex societies) can cause Equality and Proportionality to be more "orthogonal" (i.e., more distinguishable constructs rather than one being a special case of the other, or reflecting different aspects of a more basic psychological construct) (Durkee et al, 2020;Smaldino et al, 2019). In addition, the strength of social norms and lower individualism may account for higher covariance between Equality and Proportionality (for a review of trait covariance structures as a function of cultural factors and socioecological environments, see Gurven, 2018).…”

Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles

“…preferential copying of self-similar individuals) could now be driving arbitrary forms of gendered behaviour, such as the persistence of gender segregation found in workforces in industrialized societies. Mathematical modelling suggests that expansion of available niches drives a corresponding expansion of variability in personality traits, and empirical data show that personality is more variable in industrialized societies than in small-scale societies [23,24]. Where there is more variability in personality traits, there is more scope for men and women to differ in a manner which has been shaped by cultural learning.…”

Niche diversity effects on personality measurement – evidence from large national samples during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Another important question is whether these effects are driven by the brief nature of the personality inventory that was used. Given previously reported patterns with more extensive instruments ( Durkee et al, 2020 ; Fischer, 2017 ; Fontaine et al, 2008 ; Lukaszewski et al, 2017 ) and the emerging evidence of the robustness of single item or short personality measures ( Konstabel et al, 2017 ; Rammstedt & John, 2007 ; Soto & John, 2017 ; Spörrle & Bekk, 2014 ), we should probably expect similar patterns. The calculation of credibility intervals also points to a relative robustness of this effect.…”

“…They computed an index that included economic data as well as education levels, urbanization rates and diversity of export goods to capture niche diversity. Initial studies with student data ( Lukaszewski et al, 2017 ), an online study where users from a large number of countries answered surveys in a limited number of languages ( Durkee et al, 2020 ), and a simulation exercise ( Smaldino et al, 2019 ) have supported this hypothesis. Still, these studies are limited by their use of possible self-selection biases in largely non-representative samples (e.g., students, internet users on a personality portal) and language effects due to limited language options available (for language effects, see Harzing, 2006 ).…”