Assessing Iraqi Arab personality using the Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire.
The assessment of personality and related interpersonal dynamics among non-English-speaking populations offers many challenges to psychologists. Nonverbal culture-free or culture-fair instruments often fall short of adequately navigating the complex demands of non-Western cultural and ideological influences. Despite nearly a decade of America's presence within the Middle East, there remains a paucity of useful psychological assessment instruments available for use with non-English-speaking Arab populations in the region. A modified version of the Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire was used to assess personality, motivation, and interpersonal style among a small sample of Iraqi Arab male job applicants (n = 56). The various cross-cultural challenges and lessons learned from this assessment process are discussed and specific recommendations are provided.
U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC 28307, USA.
Mark A
MA
Staal
D018912:Arabs; D003469:Culture; D004651:Employment; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012934:Social Isolation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires