Malay Culture and Personality

Abstract
The study aims to determine whether the Big Five model of personality is applicable to the Malay culture. Two studies were conducted among Malaysian students in Australia (N = 174), and a further study (N = 451) conducted in Malaysia used the refined items from the Australian work. Scree and parallel tests indicated that only five factors should be extracted. Exploratory and Procrustes factor analyses indicated that the Big Five factors of Costa and McCrae exist in the Malay personality structure. The Openness to Actions and Values facets, however, were not replicated well. Overall results and congruence coefficients for 28 facets strongly supported the Big Five model as being cross-culturally applicable. Compared to Americans, Malay students appeared to have high scores in Agreeableness and low scores in Extraversion and Openness.

This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit: