Pancultural gender stereotypes revisited: The Five Factor Model

Williams and Best's (1982, 1990a) cross-cultural gender stereotype data fro m 25 countries, previously analyzed in terms of affective meanings, ego sta tes, and psychological needs, were re-analyzed in terms of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality. In each country, participants were approximatel y 100 university students, equally divided by gender. With results averaged across all countries, it was found that the pancultural male stereotype wa s higher than the pancultural female stereotype on Extraversion, Conscienti ousness, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience while the pancultu ral female stereotype was higher on Agreeableness Re-analysis of the stereo type data from Japan and Pakistan, which had been found relatively atypical in previous analyses, revealed FFM profiles generally similar to the pancu ltural profiles. The evaluative nature of each factor is discussed and rela ted to the stereotypes as socialization models.