Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Five-Factor Model of Personality among Korean Employees

Based on a sample of 717 employees of Korean firms administered the Korean version of the NEO-PI-R, this study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the construct validity of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality in Korea. CFA results indicated that the FFM fit the Korean data as well as it fit the U.S. normative data reported in the NEO-PI-R manual. Furthermore, the pattern of intercorrelations among the FFM dimensions in the Korean sample was similar to that in the U.S. normative data sample, with the only noteworthy difference being the hypothesized stronger relation between Agreeableness and Conscientiousness in the Korean sample. In neither sample was the FFM assumption of orthogonality supported. Study results support the hypothesis that the basic structure of personality is similar across cultures and indicate that the FFM can describe this common structure if the assumption of trait orthogonality is abandoned.