The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations

David P. Schmitt; J Allik; R. R. McCrae; V. Benet-Martínez; L. Alcalay; L. Ault; I. Austers; K. L. Bennett; G. Bianchi; F. Boholst; M. A. Borg Cunene; J. Braeckman; E. G. Brained Jr.; Bert Timmermans; T. Vanhoomissen; F. Van Overwalle

doi:10.1177/0022022106297299

The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations

David P. Schmitt, J Allik, R. R. McCrae, V. Benet-Martínez, L. Alcalay, L. Ault, I. Austers, K. L. Bennett, G. Bianchi, F. Boholst, M. A. Borg Cunene, J. Braeckman, E. G. Brained Jr., Bert Timmermans, T. Vanhoomissen, F. Van Overwalle

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

585 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focuses on limitations of the current data set and important directions for future research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	173-212
Number of pages	36
Journal	Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Volume	38
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022106297299
Publication status	Published - Mar 2007

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Schmitt, D. P., Allik, J., McCrae, R. R., Benet-Martínez, V., Alcalay, L., Ault, L., Austers, I., Bennett, K. L., Bianchi, G., Boholst, F., Borg Cunene, M. A., Braeckman, J., Brained Jr., E. G., Timmermans, B., Vanhoomissen, T., & Van Overwalle, F. (2007). The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(2), 173-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022106297299

The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations. / Schmitt, David P.; Allik, J; McCrae, R. R.; Benet-Martínez, V.; Alcalay, L.; Ault, L.; Austers, I.; Bennett, K. L.; Bianchi, G.; Boholst, F.; Borg Cunene, M. A.; Braeckman, J.; Brained Jr., E. G.; Timmermans, Bert; Vanhoomissen, T.; Van Overwalle, F.

In: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 2, 03.2007, p. 173-212.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Schmitt, DP, Allik, J, McCrae, RR, Benet-Martínez, V, Alcalay, L, Ault, L, Austers, I, Bennett, KL, Bianchi, G, Boholst, F, Borg Cunene, MA, Braeckman, J, Brained Jr., EG, Timmermans, B, Vanhoomissen, T & Van Overwalle, F 2007, 'The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations', Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 173-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022106297299

Schmitt, David P. ; Allik, J ; McCrae, R. R. ; Benet-Martínez, V. ; Alcalay, L. ; Ault, L. ; Austers, I. ; Bennett, K. L. ; Bianchi, G. ; Boholst, F. ; Borg Cunene, M. A. ; Braeckman, J. ; Brained Jr., E. G. ; Timmermans, Bert ; Vanhoomissen, T. ; Van Overwalle, F. / The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations. In: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 2007 ; Vol. 38, No. 2. pp. 173-212.

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abstract = "The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focuses on limitations of the current data set and important directions for future research.",

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