Comprehensive personality structure in the Persian language: High-dimensionality analyses of trait adjectives

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cross-cultural psychology
• Personality science

Background:

• The organization of personality-trait concepts varies across cultures, challenging the universality of models like the Big Five.
• Limited research exists on personality structure in non-Western contexts, particularly concerning the trade-off between parsimonious (few factors) and comprehensive (many factors) models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the cross-cultural reproducibility and universality of personality structures using Persian language data.
• To compare the fit and reproducibility of few-factor versus high-dimensionality personality structures in a non-Western sample.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of self-reports from 767 Iranian adults using 360 Persian personality terms.
• Application of both high-dimensionality and traditional factor analysis approaches.
• Evaluation of imported Big Five and six-factor structures alongside data-driven structures.

Main Results:

• Imported Big Five and six-factor structures showed poor fit for Persian personality data.
• While few-factor structures (1 or 8 factors) had the highest absolute reproducibility, 20- and 42-factor structures were nearly as reproducible and accounted for more variance.
• The 42-factor structure identified universal and culture-specific personality contents, indicating partial hierarchical organization.

Conclusions:

• The Big Five model is not universally applicable, and personality structure may be partially hierarchical with distinct layers.
• High-dimensionality models offer a more comprehensive and reproducible account of personality structure across cultures.
• Personality structure studies can illuminate cultural nuances and differences.