Extravert individualists or introvert collectivists? Personality traits and individualism and collectivism in students in Poland and Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of this research was to analyse the connections between personality traits and horizontal and vertical forms of individ ualism and collectivism, regarded as social orientations, in two national groups of students. The analyses were conducted in the context of psychosocial functioning in the academic environment. A total of 210 students were examined including 109 of Polish nationality and 101 of Ukrainian nationality. Despite the historical and geographical proximity of both countries, we predicted that different relationships between variables will occur in the two samples of students. The following tests were used: the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the Vertical- Horizontal Individualism-Collectivism Scale (KIRH) in Polish and Ukrainian versions. The results indicated that Polish students had significantly higher horizontal orientation, both in individualism and collectivism, compared to their Ukrainian colleagues. Polish students were also more agreeable and open to experience than Ukrainian students. There were significantly different patterns of correlations between the analysed variables in the two national groups. The obtained z-statistics revealed differences between groups in correlations between the vertical form of both individ ualism and collectivism and such personality traits as extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to experience. There was also a significant difference between the relationships of horizontal individualism and agreeableness in two compared groups. Regression analyses indicated various significant predictors of social orientations in the two groups.