Assessing the nomological network of the South African Personality Inventory among industrial psychologists

Abstract

To date, personality has mostly been assessed using westernised inventories that evidently have limited reliability and validity in a diverse nation such as South Africa. The South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) project was initiated with the goal of providing South Africa with a valid and reliable personality measure that can be applied fairly across the diverse nation. The SAPI is currently in the developmental stage, and part of the developmental process requires rigorous analysis on its nomological network within different occupational groups. This study therefore assessed the nomological network of the SAPI among emerging and registered industrial psychologists. The general objective of this study was to assess the internal and external validity of the SAPI in order to expand its nomological network. Internal validity was determined though construct validity and discriminant validity, whereas external validity was determined through concurrent validity and predictive validity. The external validity was determined through analysing the personality constructs measured by the SAPI in relation to Cultural Intelligence and Psychological Wellbeing constructs. A quantitative research approach was used to examine the psychometric properties of the SAPI and contribute to the expansion of its nomological network. The study made use of a cross-sectional design and a purposive non-probability sampling procedure. The targeted sample consisted of emerging industrial psychologists and registered industrial psychologists (N=465). The results showed that the SAPI consists of a six-factor model (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Negative- and Positive Social Relational factor), which is dissimilar to the nine factor and five factor models that have been reported previously. The constructs of these models were distinct from each other and therefore unique. This finding confirmed both construct and discriminant validity. External validity in terms of concurrent validity and predictive validity were also proven. It is evident from the analysis that many of the SAPI constructs correlated with Cultural Intelligence and Psychological Wellbeing constructs and also predicted various constructs of these theoretical models as outcomes.