Synopses & Reviews
The Five-Factor Model Across Cultures was designed to further an understanding of the interrelations between personality and culture by examining the dominant paradigm for personality assessment - the Five-Factor Model or FFM - in a wide variety of cultural contexts. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary research and theory about personality traits and culture that is extremely relevant to personality psychologists, cross-cultural psychologists, and psychological anthropologists.
Synopsis
The Five-Factor Model Across Cultures was designed to further an understanding of the interrelations between personality and culture by examining the dominant paradigm for personality assessment - the Five-Factor Model or FFM - in a wide variety of cultural contexts. Data from 40 cultural groups, ranging from Vietnamese Americans to Zimbabweans, are used to address a variety of issues: Is the FFM universal? Do personality traits have the same correlates in different cultures? How are mean levels of personality traits related to features of cultures, such as Individualism/Collectivism? Are stereotypes of national character accurate?
The book is unified by the use of a single model of personality, and, in most cases, a single instrument, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Many of the chapters provide psychometric evaluations of new translations of this instrument. However, all chapters view personality assessment in cultural context. Diverse points of view are represented on how personality is related to culture, and a methodological chapter provides a critical assessment of the body of work. The editors provide an overview and a concluding chapter that evaluates findings in the book from the perspective of the bio-social Five-Factor Theory of personality.
Synopsis
ROBERT R. MCCRAE* & JuRI ALLIK** *Nationallnstitute on Aging, **University of Tartu, Estonia Personality psychology has become an international enterprise. To take an example at random, the eight personality articles in the December, 2001, issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology included contributions from the United States, Canada, Germany, Finland, and Israel. For the most part, international personality research is not cross-cultural; it is simply personality research conducted in different countries. The implicit assumption behind this practice is that personality processes are universal, and where they are studied is thus of no consequence. An insensitivity to cul tural context once imputed mostly to Americans now appears to characterize the field worldwide. Fortunately, recent years have also seen a rise of interest in studies of personality and culture (Church, 2001; Church & Lonner, 1998; Lee, McCauley, & Draguns, 1999; McCrae, 2000). What do these new studies show? Are personality processes indeed universal, or are there significant variations across cultures that necessitate a more nuanced approach to research? There is as yet no definitive answer to that question. In some respects, human personality does seem to transcend the boundaries of language and culture; in other respects, it is profoundly influenced by social and historical forces. Sorting these issues out must be a priority for our field if we are to understand the current personality literature."
Table of Contents
Preface; A.J. Marsella. Introduction; R.R. McCrae, J. Allik. Section I: Trans- and Intercultural Studies. The Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Five-Factor Model of Personality; J.-P. Rolland. Exploring the Sources of Variations in the Structure of Personality Traits Across Cultures; K. Konstabel, et al. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory in Czech, Polish, and Slovak Contexts; M.H. Ková, et al. Relating the Five-Factor Model of Personality to a Circumplex Model of Affect: A Five Language Study; M.S.M. Yik, et al. NEO-PI-R Data from 36 Cultures: Further Intercultural Comparisons; R.R. McCrae. Section II: Case Studies in Personality and Culture. The Five-Factor Model in the Philippines: Investigating Trait Structure and Levels Across Cultures; A.T. Church, M.S. Katigbak. The Applicability of the Five-Factor Model in a Sub-Saharan Culture: The NEO-PI-R in Shona; R.L. Piedmont, et al. Five-Factor Model and the NEO-PI-R in Turkey; S. Gülgöz. Vietnamese-American Personality and Acculturation: An Exploration of Relations Between Personality Traits and Cultural Goals; A. Leininger. The Five-Factor Model of Personality Measurement and Correlates in the Indian Context; P.H. Lodhi, et al. Personality and Culture: The Portuguese Case; M.P. de Lima. Applications of the Russian NEO-PI-R; T.A. Martin, et al. Section III: Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives. Cross-Cultural Equivalence of the Big Five: A Tentative Interpretation of the Evidence; Y.H. Poortinga, et al. A Five-Factor Theory Perspective; J. Allik, R.R. McCrae. Author Index. Subject Index.