4115 - ROUND OUTSIDE AND SQUARE INSIDE: THE CONNOTATION AND ADAPTABILITY OF CULTURALLY RELEVANT INTERPERSONAL RELATEDNESS PERSONALITY FACTOR

Session: 4112 - CULTURALLY RELEVANT PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT USING THE COMBINED EMIC-ETIC APPROACH
AUTHORS:
Zhou Mingjie (Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; ~ Beijing ~ China) , Mu Weiqi (Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; ~ Beijing ~ China) , Fan Weiqiao (Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China; ~ Shanghai ~ China) , Zhang Jianxin (1Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; ~ Beijing ~ China) , Cheung Fanny (3Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China ~ Shatin, Hong Kong SAR ~ China)
Abstract text:
The Interpersonal Relatedness (IR) personality factor of Chinese people is a culturally specific
personality dimension derived through a combined emic-etic approach. To further explore the
connotation of the IR trait, Study 1 employed the Latent Profile Analysis to reveal population
heterogeneity in a normative Chinese sample of 1,911 individuals from the CPAI-2 (Crosscultural/
Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory-2). The analysis identified a four-quadrant
classification of the population based on two dimensions: "Round outside" (harmonious
flexibility externally) and "Square inside" (principled integrity internally). Study 2 conducted a
comparative analysis between Chinese and Non-Chinese groups. The results revealed significant
differences not only in IR dimensional scores but also in latent profile of IR classifications
between Eastern and Western populations. Study 3 further validated the four-quadrant
categorization of "Round outside and square inside" personality types within a university student
population (N = 2580), which demonstrated that individuals with this "Round outside and square
inside" profile exhibit greater adaptability in modern Chinese society. By linking these findings
to the traditional Chinese ideal of a virtuous person (Junzi), our discussion will focus on the role of culture in shaping personality and the critical importance of culturally adaptive behavioral
patterns for successful in modern society. These findings also highlight the unique value of the
combined emic-etic approach in personality research.