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Challenges to capture the big five personality traits in non-WEIRD populations

Author

Listed:
  • Rachid Laajaj

    (UNIANDES - Universidad de los Andes [Bogota])

  • Karen Macours

    (PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Daniel Alejandro Pinzon Hernandez

    (UNIANDES - Universidad de los Andes [Bogota])

  • Omar Arias

    (The World Bank - The World Bank - The World Bank)

  • Samuel D. Gosling

    (University of Texas at Austin [Austin], University of Melbourne)

  • Jeff Potter

    (Atof Inc.)

  • Marta Rubio-Codina

    (Inter-American Development Bank - Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Renos Vakis

    (The World Bank - The World Bank - The World Bank)

Abstract

Can personality traits be measured and interpreted reliably across the world? While the use of Big Five personality measures is increasingly common across social sciences, their validity outside of western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) populations is unclear. Adopting a comprehensive psychometric approach to analyze 29 face-to-face surveys from 94,751 respondents in 23 low- and middle-income countries, we show that commonly used personality questions generally fail to measure the intended personality traits and show low validity. These findings contrast with the much higher validity of these measures attained in internet surveys of 198,356 self-selected respondents from the same countries. We discuss how systematic response patterns, enumerator interactions, and low education levels can collectively distort personality measures when assessed in large-scale surveys. Our results highlight the risk of misinterpreting Big Five survey data and provide a warning against naïve interpretations of personality traits without evidence of their validity.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachid Laajaj & Karen Macours & Daniel Alejandro Pinzon Hernandez & Omar Arias & Samuel D. Gosling & Jeff Potter & Marta Rubio-Codina & Renos Vakis, 2019. "Challenges to capture the big five personality traits in non-WEIRD populations," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02306945, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-02306945
    DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw5226
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    Cited by:

    1. Bühler, Dorothee & Sharma, Rasadhika & Stein, Wiebke, 2020. "Occupational Attainment and Earnings in Southeast Asia: The Role of Non-cognitive Skills," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Sébastien Michiels & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Suneha Seetahul, 2021. "Many Rivers to Cross: Social Identity, Cognition, and Labor Mobility in Rural India," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 697(1), pages 66-80, September.
    3. Duncan Webb, 2022. "Critical Periods in Cognitive and Socioemotional Development: Evidence from Weather Shocks in Indonesia," PSE Working Papers halshs-03542607, HAL.
    4. Becky A. Black & Margaret L. Kern, 2020. "A qualitative exploration of individual differences in wellbeing for highly sensitive individuals," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Duncan Webb, 2022. "Critical Periods in Cognitive and Socioemotional Development: Evidence from Weather Shocks in Indonesia," Working Papers halshs-03542607, HAL.
    6. Bauer, Michal & Chytilová, Julie & Miguel, Edward, 2020. "Using survey questions to measure preferences: Lessons from an experimental validation in Kenya," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Cheng, Ziyi & Chen, Xi, 2024. "Cognitive ability, the Big Five, and rural-to-urban migration in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Farris, Jarrad & Maredia, Mywish K. & Mason, Nicole M. & Ortega, David L., 2024. "Farmer personality and community-based extension effectiveness in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Alaref, Jumana & Brodmann, Stefanie & Premand, Patrick, 2020. "The medium-term impact of entrepreneurship education on labor market outcomes: Experimental evidence from university graduates in Tunisia," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    10. Justine Herve & Helene Purcell & Subha Mani, 2023. "Conscientiousness Matters: How does Personality affect Labor Market Outcomes?," Fordham Economics Discussion Paper Series dp2023-05er:dp2023-05, Fordham University, Department of Economics.
    11. Qian, Chen & Antonides, Gerrit & Heerink, Nico & Zhu, Xueqin & Ma, Xianlei, 2022. "An economic-psychological perspective on perceived land tenure security: Evidence from rural eastern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    12. Martin Obschonka & Michael Stuetzer & Alexander Newman & Cristina B. Gibson & Samuel D. Gosling & Peter J. Rentfrow & Jeff Potter, 2023. "Corruption revisited: the influence of national personality, culture, and wealth," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(8), pages 1577-1587, October.
    13. An Huang & Paulo Santos, 2022. "Improving the reliability and validity of data on Big Five personality traits in developing countries," Monash Economics Working Papers 2022-04, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    14. Minkov, Michael & Kaasa, Anneli, 2022. "Do dimensions of culture exist objectively? A validation of the revised Minkov-Hofstede model of culture with World Values Survey items and scores for 102 countries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).

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