Does multilingualism shape personality? An exploratory investigation

cultural empathy; emotional stability; flexibility; Multilingualism; open-mindedness; social initiative; Education; Language and Linguistics; Linguistics and Language

Abstract :

[en] Aims and objectives: Personality psychologists argue that personality is the result of nature and nurture. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the latter. The present study considers the effect of multilingualism, a social factor, on personality. Methodology: A total of 651 multilinguals from around the world filled out an online questionnaire containing questions about participants’ language profile and a so-called “Big 5” questionnaire: the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (short form). Data and analysis: Correlation analyses were run between the level of multilingualism of participants and their scores on five personality traits. A parceled structural equation model was then used to examine the influence of multilingualism on three personality subscales. Findings: The model indicated significant positive path coefficients between the level of multilingualism and Flexibility, Social Initiative and Open-mindedness. Significance: Our findings confirm and expand earlier research that showed that multilingualism/multiculturalism can be considered to be enduring environmental factors that contribute to the shaping of personality profiles.

Disciplines :

Education & instruction

Author, co-author :

Dewaele, Jean-Marc ; University of London, London, United Kingdom

BOTES, Elouise ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences (DBCS) > Cognitive Science and Assessment

External co-authors :

yes

Language :

English

Title :

Does multilingualism shape personality? An exploratory investigation

Publication date :

August 2020

Journal title :

International Journal of Bilingualism

ISSN :

1367-0069

eISSN :

1756-6878

Publisher :

SAGE Publications Ltd

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

811 - 823

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1367006919888581

Available on ORBilu :

since 07 February 2025

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