A Comparative Study of Personality in Nigerian and English Subjects

Abstract

A Nigerian sample of 329 men and 101 women was administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire under selection conditions; so was another sample of 246 Nigerian males under conditions of anonymity. All Ss in these groups were members of the armed forces. British groups of civilians and soldiers (N = 404 men and 544 women) were also administered the same questionnaire, with both samples being matched for age, and the results for the two national groups were compared. Factor analyses of the intercorrelations of the questions in the E.P.Q. showed factor comparison indices sufficiently high to indicate that the questionnaire measured much the same traits in the two populations. Reliabilities were somewhat lower among the Nigerians, and there were certain differences in the intercorrelations between the scales. Nigerians had much higher Lie scores, and in addition the evidence suggested that they had higher Psychoticism scores (i.e., were more tough minded) and had lower Neuroticism scores. The possibility was raised of their having higher Extraversion scores, but the evidence is somewhat contradictory. A discussion is given of certain cultural differences which may account for some of the observed differences.