Preliminary compilation and structural analysis of personality lexicon in southern China / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To preliminarily compile the words list of personality in southern China, and structurally analyse the words with natural personality traits.Methods:A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain 603 valid questionnaires in six provinces in southern China, and the lexical collation, consolidation, deletion, lexicographic analysis and structural analysis were conducted.Results:(1)After three rounds of collation and merging of 8 022 natural words describing personality traits, a personality trait word list containing 136 words was obtained.(2)Econometric analysis of words according to positivity, neutrality and negativity, showed that all negative words involving moral evaluations (ruthless, vicious, evil, cunning, narrow-minded and so on) were used to describe others, while negative words describing oneself were mainly non-virtuous words (capricious, stubborn, impatient, impetuous, pessimistic and so on). (3) The proportion of desirability and virtue dimensions in the words list was highest(23.20%, 16.80%); and the proportion of desirability and extroversion in total words frequency was highest(24.39%, 19.96%).Conclusion:A personality word list containing 136 personality traits in southern China is compiled from primary sources; and a 7-factor personality structure was latent in the word list.Subjects are richer in describing the content of the vocabulary of agreeable, virtuous, pioneering, and persevering personality traits, while agreeable and extroverted personality traits are most easily perceived in interpersonal interactions.