Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Brenton M. Wiernik, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Stephen Stark, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Marina A. Bornovalova, Ph.D.

Keywords

Big Five, China, Cross-cultural, genetic algorithm, item response theory, psychometrics

Abstract

In this study we aimed to create a short, public-domain analogue of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2; F. M. Cheung et al., 1996). Emic (culture-specific) traits measured by the CPAI-2 are purportedly specific to the Chinese culture and argued to not be fully captured by the consensus Big Five personality trait taxonomy. Research suggests that CPAI-2 traits may have unique predictive power, especially in non-Western contexts. However, research has been hampered by several limitations of the measure. The inventory is proprietary and long, with 341 items forming 28 scales and four factors. Cross-cultural personality research would benefit from a short, public-domain analogue to the CPAI-2 to permit assessment in a wider range of contexts. Using two analytic approaches—item factor analysis and a genetic algorithm (Yarkoni, 2018)—we developed two short, public-domain measures to assess the 11 emic CPAI-2 scales that have no clear analogues in the current public-domain personality measure library. When examining the resulting measures’ factor structure, reliability, and criterion-related validity, we see that both short-form measures adequately replicate the pattern of correlations exhibited by the full-form measure as well as the original CPAI-2. Implications for research using automated scale abbreviation and the cultural specificity hypothesis of personality are discussed.

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