Cultural correlates of personality: A global perspective with insights from 22 nations

Abstract

The intersection of personality and culture has long intrigued various disciplines, having gained renewed attention with the advancements in psychometrics as a means to study personality traits as well as progression in the use of quantitative methods to study intercultural relations. This paper investigated the relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the Big Five personality traits across 22 countries. It did so with the goal of testing hypotheses on whether Hofstede’s cultural dimensions significantly relate to the Big Five traits and whether countries sharing cultural similarities exhibit similar personality trait scores. The findings produced here highlight a substantial link between certain cultural dimensions (specifically, Masculinity, Power Distance, Individualism, and Uncertainty Avoidance) and the Big Five traits, while dimensions such as Long-Term Orientation and Indulgence did not significantly correlate with personality traits. Through regression and cluster analyses, this study confirmed that countries grouped based on cultural dimensions showed similar personality trait scores.