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International audience; Numerous studies have documented subtle but consistent sex differences in self-reports and observer-ratings of five-factor personality traits, and such effects were found to show well-defined developmental trajectories and remarkable similarity across nations. In contrast, very little is known about perceived gender differences in five-factor traits in spite of their potential implications for gender biases at the interpersonal and societal level. In particular, it is not clear how perceived gender differences in five-factor personality vary across age groups and national contexts and to what extent they accurately reflect assessed sex differences in personality. To address these questions, we analyzed responses from 3,323 individuals across 26 nations (mean age = 22.3 years, 31% male) who were asked to rate the five-factor personality traits of typical men or women in three age groups (adolescent, adult, and older adult) in their respective nations. Raters perceived women as slightly higher in openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness as well as some aspects of extraversion and neuroticism. Perceived gender differences were fairly consistent across nations and target age groups and mapped closely onto assessed sex differences in self- and observer-rated personality. Associations between the average size of perceived gender differences and national variations in sociodemographic characteristics, value systems, or gender equality did not reach statistical significance. Findings contribute to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of gender stereotypes of personality and suggest that perceptions of actual sex differences may play a more important role than culturally based gender roles and socialization processes.

We examined properties of culture-level personality traits in ratings of targets (N=5,109) ages 12 to 17 in 24 cultures. Aggregate scores were generalizable across gender, age, and relationship groups and showed convergence with culture-level scores from previous studies of self-reports and observer ratings of adults, but they were unrelated to national character stereotypes. Trait profiles also showed cross-study agreement within most cultures, 8 of which had not previously been studied. Multidimensional scaling showed that Western and non-Western cultures clustered along a dimension related to Extraversion. A culture-level factor analysis replicated earlier findings of a broad Extraversion factor but generally resembled the factor structure found in individuals. Continued analysis of aggregate personality scores is warranted. This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: McCrae, R. R.; Terracciano, A.; De Fruyt, F.; De Bolle, M.; Gelfand, M. J.; Costa, P. T.; Aguilar-Vafaie, M. E.; Ahn, C.-K.; Ahn, H.; Alcalay, L.; Allik, J.; Avdeyeva, T. V.; Blatny, M.; Bratko, D.; Brunner-Sciarra, M.; Cain, T. R.; Chittcharat, N.; Crawford, J. T.; de Lima, M. P.; Fehr, R.; Fickova, E.; Gulgoz, S.; Hrebickova, M.; Jussim, L.; Klinkosz, W.; Knežević, G.; de Figueroa, N. L.; Loeckenhoff, C. E.; Martin, T. A.; Marušić, I.; Mastor, K. A.; Nakazato, K.; Nansubuga, F.; Porrata, J.; Purić, D.; Realo, A.; Reategui, N.; Rolland, J.-P.; Schmidt, V.; Sekowski, A.; Shakespeare-Finch, J.; Shimonaka, Y.; Simonetti, F.; Siuta, J.; Szmigielska, B.; Vanno, V.; Wang, L.; Yik, M. The Validity and Structure of Culture-Level Personality Scores: Data From Ratings of Young Adolescents. Journal of Personality 2010, 78 (3), 815–838. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00634.x]

International audience; College students (N=3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (a) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning; (b) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect; and (c) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Cross-cultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure.