Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture.
We review recent developments in the study of culture and personality measurement. Three approaches are described: an etic approach that focuses on establishing measurement equivalence in imported measures of personality, an emic (indigenous) approach that studies personality in specific cultures, and a combined emic-etic approach to personality. We propose the latter approach as a way of combining the methodological rigor of the etic approach and the cultural sensitivity of the emic approach. The combined approach is illustrated by two examples: the first with origins in Chinese culture and the second in South Africa. The article ends with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the combined emic-etic approach for the study of culture and personality and for psychology as a science.
Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong. fmcheung@cuhk.edu.hk
Fanny M
FM
Cheung
Fons J R
FJ
van de Vijver
Frederick T L
FT
Leong
D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality; D010556:Personality Tests; D012107:Research Design