Keynote Address

From Indigenous to Cross-Cultural Personality Assessment: The Usefulness of the Combined Emic-Etic Approach

Fanny M. Cheung
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Abstract

Learning from the experience of adapting imported measures and following international guidelines in test development, cross-cultural psychologists have developed indigenous instruments that capture important dimensions of personality for the local cultural contexts. In this address, I will illustrate the combined emic-etic approach using the program of research involved in developing the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). Incorporating indigenous and universal dimensions provides an opportunity to explore the universal and culture-specific dimensions of personality. These dynamic exchanges in cross-cultural personality assessment confront the challenges of “intellectual imperialism” in adopting translated measures and re-examine the controversy of the universality versus cultural specificity of personality structure.