Indigenous Personality Measures

Abstract

This article reviews the Chinese historical context of personality testing. Issues of interpretation and methodology related to initial adaptations of English-language personality tests are discussed. The deficiencies of the imposed-etic approach are addressed by the recent development of indigenous personality measures. Three large-scale indigenous personality inventories developed for the Chinese people are introduced and evaluated: Ko's Mental Health Questionnaire, Multi-Trait Personality Inventory, and Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). Research with indigenous Chinese instruments has provided relevant personality measures for use in local cultures. In addition, it has offered a means to examine the broader theoretical question of the universality and relevance of current Western personality theories, as illustrated by research with the CPAI.