MEPX
Chapter 9 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What personality means
  2. 2The five factor model
  3. 3Type tests
  4. 4Stability and change
  5. 5Where it goes wrong
  6. 6Introversion and extraversion
  7. 7The darker traits
  8. 8Measuring personality
  9. 9Culture and context
  10. 10Using it sensibly

Chapter 9 of 10

Culture and context

How universal is this.

Across societies

The five factors replicate broadly and not perfectly; some studies find different structures in less industrialised populations. Most research samples are Western, educated and wealthy.

  • Trait expression varies with what a culture rewards.
  • Comparing national averages from self-report is unreliable.

Situations again

The debate between traits and situations resolved into interaction: traits predict aggregate behaviour, situations predict specific occasions, and strong situations override traits.