Khoekhoegowab Lexical Study of Personality, 2021

Adult Khoekhoe speakers living throughout Namibia in cities, small towns, and rural areas participated in a psycho-lexical study to define the optimal emic structure of character and personality terms in Khoekhoegowab, elucidate aspects of the local context, and provide groundwork for the development of a culturally appropriate measure of personality traits. This study involved the creation of the lexical survey, quantitative data collection using the lexical survey, and follow-up qualitative interviews. 622 participants for the quantitative data collection were recruited by a team of 15 interviewers (schoolteachers of Khoekhoegowab) from throughout Namibia. Due to concerns about potential participants lacking confidence in reading and writing in Khoekhoegowab, the lexical survey was filled out by an interviewer based on the oral responses of participants. Each participant was asked to bring to mind a real person whom they knew well and respond to 292 single-word descriptors, indicating how well each term applied to that person on a five-point Likert scale. 120 participants were excluded based on various exclusion criteria, and the remaining 502 participants were relatively evenly distributed from the different regions of the country. Age ranged from 18 to 77 years (M = 35, SD = 11). Gender was noted by the interviewers based on appearance and sometimes on personal acquaintance; the sample was 58% women. 23 participants for the follow-up qualitative interviews were recruited by schoolteachers who had previously served as interviewers. These participants were adult, native speakers of Khoekhoegowab and did not include any participants who completed the lexical survey as part of the quantitative data collection. Fourteen (64%) were female. The 30- to 40-minute structured interviews were conducted by members of the study team and included nine initial questions, followed by queries about the meaning and usage of some of the 26 Khoekhoegowab words previously identified for further inquiry. After identifying redundant lexical terms, the survey was shortened to 269 single-word descriptors. These terms, many of which have interpersonal relevance, loaded onto an 11-factor personality trait model with the following dimensions: Intemperance, Prosocial Diligence, Intrusive Gossip, Good Nature, Bad Temper, Predatory Aggression, Haughty Self-Respect, Vanity/Egotism, and Fear versus Courage. Refer to the related publication for more information about the items included in the survey. The University of Namibia Research Ethics Committee (UREC) conducted an ethical review of the studies, titled “Personality and Cultural Values among Khoekhoe-Speakers in Namibia” (no protocol number assigned), in June 2018.