title: A Basic Bivariate Structure of Personality Attributes Evident Across Nine Languages.
abstract: Here, two studies seek to characterize a parsimonious common-denominator personality structure with optimal cross-cultural replicability. Personality differences are observed in all human populations and cultures, but lexicons for personality attributes contain so many distinctions that parsimony is lacking. Models stipulating the most important attributes have been formulated by experts or by empirical studies drawing on experience in a very limited range of cultures. Factor analyses of personality lexicons of nine languages of diverse provenance (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Turkish, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Maasai, and Senoufo) were examined, and their common structure was compared to that of several prominent models in psychology. A parsimonious bivariate model showed evidence of substantial convergence and ubiquity across cultures. Analyses involving key markers of these dimensions in English indicate that they are broad dimensions involving the overlapping content of the interpersonal circumplex, models of communion and agency, and morality/warmth and competence. These "Big Two" dimensions-Social Self-Regulation and Dynamism-provide a common-denominator model involving the two most crucial axes of personality variation, ubiquitous across cultures. The Big Two might serve as an umbrella model serving to link diverse theoretical models and associated research literatures.
authors.affiliation: University of Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saucier
authors.affiliation: University of Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Amber Gayle
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Thalmayer
authors.affiliation: University of Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Doris L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Société Internationale de Linguistique, Mali.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Société Internationale de Linguistique, Mali.
authors.forename: Lamine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanogo
authors.affiliation: Maa Language Consulting, Ngong, Kenya.
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ole-Kotikash
authors.affiliation: Washington State University, USA.
authors.forename: A Timothy
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Church
authors.affiliation: Washington State University, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Katigbak
authors.affiliation: Gediz University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Oya
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Somer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szarota
authors.affiliation: Free University of Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Zsofia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szirmák
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-Sen University, China.
authors.forename: Xinyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009014:Morals; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics; D000068356:Self-Control