Two independently constructed Italian trait taxonomies: comparisons among Italian and between Italian and Germanic Languages

Two existing selection procedures are distinguished, exemplified in the Dutch and German trait taxonomies. The characteristic features of the two approaches are identified in two independently constructed Italian taxonomies. We test the two approaches for their effects on the resulting trait structures and place the findings against the background of the established Germanic trait structures in four subsequent studies. In Study 1, the selection procedures in the two Italian studies are scrutinized and the resulting lists of trait descriptors are compared. In Study 2, the two Italian trait structures are compared both in terms of the trait descriptors they have in common and in terms of their unique sets. In Study 3, congruences between the corresponding factors from the two trait structures are calculated before rotation, after target rotation, and after joint rotation. In Study 4, congruences between the two Italian structures and three Germanic structures are investigated by calculating congruence coefficients before and after target rotation. We conclude that the trait selection procedures are evidently distinct, but that the two Italian structures are overwhelmingly similar. They show higher similarity to each other than either of them shows to the Germanic trait structures. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.