Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emicetic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations

General dimensions of personality description in Czech and German languages

Hrebickova M, Ostendorf F. General dimensions of personality description in Czech and German languages. CESKOSLOVENSKA PSYCHOLOGIE. 1996;40(5):392-405.Bipolar rating inventories developed by American authors in order to identify the Big-Five were translated into Czech and German. By analysing 171 bipolar adjectives, several goals were pursued: (I) to confirm the existence of the expected structure of the Big-Rye at bipolar rating scales in Czech and German; (2) to find out whether the factors derived from the analysis of the Big-Five markers have got the same meaning both in Czech and German; (3) to select appropriate feature descriptors representing particular dimensions of the Big-Five in Czech; (4) to establish a validating criterion for the interpretation of factors out of the representative set of dispositional adjectives. The analysis of the main components of 171 bipolar scales at both self- and peer- ratings has provided us with five dominant factors in Czech as well as in German. The values of the congruence coefficients display the high rate of coherence in rating factors in both languages and soups. The extracted Czech and German factors can be interpreted in the sense of five-factor model, such as Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, and Imagination/Openness

Connection of the dimensional five-factor model with circumplex configuration of traits: abridged big five dimensional circumplex (AB5C)

Hrebickova M, Ostendorf F. Connection of the dimensional five-factor model with circumplex configuration of traits: abridged big five dimensional circumplex (AB5C). CESKOSLOVENSKA PSYCHOLOGIE. 2005;49(4):302-322.In the study, the AB5C taxonomy of personality characteristics arising from connection of simple dimensional five-factor structure of traits and their circumplex configuration was exerted. In the abridged big five dimensional circumplex, every trait is characterized by its position to two factors of five factor structure, thus it contains 10 two-dimensional circumplexes. Data from 397 respondents who carried out the self-rating according to 358 Czech traits were analysed using AB5C methodology. From theoretically possible 45 bipolar facets, 26 can be defined on the basis of Czech data analysis. The results of classification of Czech traits into 10 abridged big five dimensional circumplexes were compared to data from relevant studies from abroad (Hofstee, DeRaad, Goldberg, 1992; Johnson, Ostendorf, 1993)

LEXICAL APPROACH TO PERSONALITY .5. CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES INTO CATEGORIES OF PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION

HREBICKOVA M, Ostendorf F. LEXICAL APPROACH TO PERSONALITY .5. CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES INTO CATEGORIES OF PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION. CESKOSLOVENSKA PSYCHOLOGIE. 1995;39(3):265-276.In the process of classifying 4 145 adjectives carried out independently by 6 experts, the German classification system including 5 main categories (1. Disposition, 2. Temporary conditions, 3. Social and reputational aspects, 4. Overt characteristics and appearance, 5. Terms of limited utility) was used. Each of the main categories included 2-4 sub-categories, i.e., 13 subcategories in total. From among the personality relevant adjectives, the evaluating terms (3c), terms describing the temperament and character traits (1a), and terms characterising emotions, inner states and readiness to reactions (2a) were the most numerous ones. Terms expressing activities and behavioral states (2c), social effects (3b), roles and relationships (3a) occurred most rarely in the list of adjectives. The reliability and stability of classification was determined, too. The results obtained were compared with the results of the German taxonomy. In further phase of the research project, 366 adjectives enlisted by the majority of experts into the category of Dispositions will be analysed in more detail

Lingua franca of personality - Taxonomies and structures based on the psycholexical approach

Data sets from seven original trait taxonomies from different languages, American English, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Czech, and Polish, are used for a crosscultural study. The taxonomic procedures, involving culling trait terms from the various lexicons and the construction Of representative samples of trait terms, are briefly discussed. Factor structures, presumably Big Five structures, within these languages, based on ratings from an average of about 640 subjects on an avenge of approximately 430 trait variables per language, are used for comparison. Congruence coefficients are calculated for the corresponding factors in the different languages, based on their independent positions and on their positions after rotations, using the American English solution as target In a relative sense, the congruences show replicability of the first four American English, Big Five factors in the other languages

The five-factor personality inventory: Cross-cultural generalizability across 13 countries

Hendriks AAJ, Perugini M, Angleitner A, et al. The five-factor personality inventory: Cross-cultural generalizability across 13 countries. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY. 2003;17(5):347-373