The NEO PI-R in a North European Context

Abstract

Based on a need to validate personality tests used in different cultures and in applied settings, results from four studies on three Norwegian translations of the NEO PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) are reported. In the first study, 380 subjects with a mean age of 38 years completed the first translation. In the second study, 620 subjects with a mean age of 30 years completed the second translation. In the third study, 3447 subjects with a mean age of 31 years completed a third translation that was based on the two previous translations. The first three studies were generally based on data from research settings, while in the fourth study, 4,105 subjects with a mean age of 41 completed the third translation of NEO PI-R as part of selection and counseling processes. The original five-factor structure was well replicated across the four studies, albeit with minor exceptions for a few facet loadings. The total congruence coefficients obtained were .97 and .98 in all four studies. Gender differences indicate that females had higher scores than males on neuroticism, openness and agreeableness, which were comparable to the male scores on extraversion and lower scores on conscientiousness. Our findings show consistent support for the validity of the five-factor model as measured with the NEO PI-R.