Personality construct similarity in Israel and the United States

Abstract

A translated version of the Comrey Personality Scales was administered to 185 male applicants for motor vehicle operator’s license in Israel after special measures were taken to reduce response distortion. Total scores were computed for these subjects over each of the 40 homogeneous item subgroups that define the eight personality factors in the taxonomy underlying the Comrey Personality Scales. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations among these 40 subvariables resulted in substantial confirmation of seven of the eight hypothesized factors. Failure of the eighth factor to emerge may have been due to higher average scores and lower standard deviations for the item groups defining this particular factor, possibly caused by the special conditions under which the subjects were tested. The overall results of this study provide further evidence confirming the robustness of the taxonomy of personality traits underlying the Comrey Personality Scales across language and cultural boundaries.