How reliable are average personality scores across countries? New evidence from the International Situations Project

Large-scale collaborations are becoming more common in the field of cross- cultural research, particularly in personality research. This recent increase in large-scale projects means personality trait averages across countries can be assessed for reliability. We will present new data from the International Situations Project (ISP) on personality traitsaround the world and compare these scores with previous findings. The ISP includes data from over 60 countries in more than 40 languages, with a total sample above 12,000. This project also incorporates the newly revised Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2). Trait averages by region show Asian countries are the lowest in extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness, while European countries are the highest in agreeableness, negative emotionality, and openness. African countries are the highest in conscientiousness and lowest in negative emotionality. Rank order comparisons with previous findings (Schmitt, 2007) indicate moderate reliability of trait scores (average r= .29, p < .05).