Gideon P. de Bruin

Exploring the Personality Structure in the 11 Languages of South Africa

The present study, part of the development of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI), explores the implicit personality structure in the 11 official language groups of South Africa by employing a mixed-method approach. In the first, qualitative part of the study, semistructured interviews were conducted with 1,216 participants from the 11 official language groups. The derived personality-descriptive terms were categorized and clustered based on their semantic relations in iterative steps involving group discussions and contacts with language and cultural experts. This analysis identified 37 subclusters, which could be merged in 9 broad clusters: Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Facilitating, Integrity, Intellect, Openness, Relationship Harmony, and Soft-Heartedness. In the second, quantitative part, the perceived relations between the 37 subclusters were rated by 204 students from different language groups in South Africa and 95 students in the Netherlands. The outcomes generally supported the adequacy of the conceptual model, although several clusters in the domain of relational and social functioning did not replicate in detail. The outcomes of these studies revealed a personality structure with a strong emphasis on social-relational aspects of personality.

Examining the Cheats: The Role of Conscientiousness and Excitement Seeking in Academic Dishonesty

This study examines the relationships of the personality traits of conscientiousness and excitement seeking with self-reported frequency of premeditated cheating in tests and exams among university students. The results show that the two traits combine to account for a statistically and practically significant proportion of variance in academic cheating. It appears that a lack of effort and a need for high excitement seeking may serve as predisposing traits with regard to academic cheating. A model of the role that the two traits may play in explaining academic cheating is presented.

The Effect of Response Style on Self-Reported Conscientiousness Across 20 Countries:

Rankings of countries on mean levels of self-reported Conscientiousness continue to puzzle researchers. Based on the hypothesis that cross-cultural differences in the tendency to prefer extreme response categories of ordinal rating scales over moderate categories can influence the comparability of self-reports, this study investigated possible effects of response style on the mean levels of self-reported Conscientiousness in 22 samples from 20 countries. Extreme and neutral responding were estimated based on respondents’ ratings of 30 hypothetical people described in short vignettes. In the vignette ratings, clear cross-sample differences in extreme and neutral responding emerged. These responding style differences were correlated with mean self-reported Conscientiousness scores. Correcting self-reports for extreme and neutral responding changed sample rankings of Conscientiousness, as well as the predictive validities of these rankings for external criteria. The findings suggest that the puzzling country rankings of self-reported Conscientiousness may to some extent result from differences in response styles.

The Structural Validity of Holland’s R-I-A-S-E-C Model of Vocational Personality Types for Young Black South African Men and Women

This study examined the validity of Holland’s circular order model of vocational personality types for young black South African men and women. The validity of the model was investigated for four groups, namely men and women from the Eastern Cape Province, and men and women from the North West Province. The randomization test of hypothesized order relations and the accompanying correspondence index suggested that the data of all four groups fit the circular order model poorly. The results of multidimensional scaling analyses also suggested poor fit. These results indicate that the circular order model may not be valid for black South African youths. Reasons for the unsatisfactory fit between the model and the observed data are discussed.This study examined the validity of Holland’s circular order model of vocational personality types for young black South African men and women. The validity of the model was investigated for four groups, namely men and women from the Eastern Cape Province, and men and women from the North West Province. The randomization test of hypothesized order relations and the accompanying correspondence index suggested that the data of all four groups fit the circular order model poorly. The results of multidimensional scaling analyses also suggested poor fit. These results indicate that the circular order model may not be valid for black South African youths. Reasons for the unsatisfactory fit between the model and the observed data are discussed.

Development of the Sources of Work Stress Inventory

This article describes the development of the Sources of Work Stress Inventory (SWSI). Factor analyses of the generated items produced (a) a General Work Stress Scale and (b) eight Sources of Work Stress scales, namely Bureaucracy/Autonomy, Relationships, Tools and Equipment, Workload, Role Ambiguity, Work/Home Interface, Job Security and Career Advancement. Rasch rating scale analyses supported the construct validity and reliability of the scales. A multiple regression analysis confirmed the expected strong relationship between the different sources of work stress and the experience of stress in the workplace. It is concluded that the SWSI shows promise as a measure of work stress in the South African context.

The factor structure of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale in a South African peri-urban settlement.

The factor structure of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) and similar instruments have received little attention in the literature. The researchers set out to investigate the construct validity and reliability of the EPDS amongst impoverished South African women. The EPDS was translated into isiXhosa (using Brislins back translation method) and administered by trained interviewers to 147 women in Khayelitsha, South Africa. Responses were subjected to maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis. A single factor structure was found, consistent with the theory on which the EPDS was based. Internal consistency was satisfactory (a = 0.89).

Comparability of self-reported conscientiousness across 21 countries

In cross–national studies, mean levels of self–reported phenomena are often not congruent with more objective criteria. One prominent explanation for such findings is that people make self–report judgements in relation to culture–specific standards (often called the reference group effect), thereby undermining the cross–cultural comparability of the judgements. We employed a simple method called anchoring vignettes in order to test whether people from 21 different countries have varying standards for Conscientiousness, a Big Five personality trait that has repeatedly shown unexpected nation–level relationships with external criteria. Participants rated their own Conscientiousness and that of 30 hypothetical persons portrayed in short vignettes. The latter type of ratings was expected to reveal individual differences in standards of Conscientiousness. The vignettes were rated relatively similarly in all countries, suggesting no substantial culture–related differences in standards for Conscientiousness. Controlling for the small differences in standards did not substantially change the rankings of countries on mean self–ratings or the predictive validities of these rankings for objective criteria. These findings are not consistent with mean self–rated Conscientiousness scores being influenced by culture–specific standards. The technique of anchoring vignettes can be used in various types of studies to assess the potentially confounding effects of reference levels. Copyright

Dimensionality of the 9-Item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9)

Despite wide-spread use, questions remain about the dimensionality of the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Theoretical underpinnings of the UWES-9 point toward a hierarchical structure with a general factor and three group or primary factors: Dedication, Vigor, and Absorption. To date, researchers have failed to model the general factor, which contributes to the lack of consensus about the dimensionality of the scale. Bi-factor analysis was used to demonstrate the presence of a very strong general factor and, in comparison, two weak group factors. The results shed additional light on the meaning of the work engagement construct. The implications for research with the UWES-9 are discussed.

Similarities and Differences in Implicit Personality Concepts across Ethnocultural Groups in South Africa

Using a combined emic–etic approach, the present study investigates similarities and differences in the indigenous personality concepts of ethnocultural groups in South Africa. Semistructured interviews asking for self- and other-descriptions were conducted with 1,027 Blacks, 58 Indians, and 105 Whites, speakers of the country’s 11 official languages. A model with 9 broad personality clusters subsuming the Big Five—Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Facilitating, Integrity, Intellect, Openness, Relationship Harmony, and Soft-Heartedness (Nel et al., 2012)—was examined. The 9 clusters were found in all groups, yet the groups differed in their use of the model’s components: Blacks referred more to social-relational descriptions, specific trait manifestations, and social norms, whereas Whites referred more to personal-growth descriptions and abstract concepts, and Indians had an intermediate pattern. The results suggest that a broad spectrum of personality concepts should be included in the development of common personality models and measurement tools for diverse cultural groups.

Implicit personality conceptions of the nguni cultural-linguistic groups of south africa

The present study explored the personality conceptions of the three main Nguni cultural-linguistic groups of South Africa: Swati, Xhosa, and Zulu. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 116 native speakers of Swati, 118 of Xhosa, and 141 of Zulu in their own language. Participants provided free descriptions of 10 target persons each; responses were translated into English. Twenty-six clusters of personality-descriptive terms were constructed based on shared semantic content and connotations of the original responses. These clusters accounted for largely identical content in all three groups. The clusters represented an elaborate conception of social-relational aspects of personality revolving around the themes of altruism, empathy, guidance, and harmony. The patterning of responses suggests that the individual is viewed as inextricably bound to his or her context of social relationships and situations. The findings are discussed with reference to the Big Five model of personality and the culture and personality framework.