Race, job applicants, and the Five-Factor Model of Personality: Implications for Black psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and the Five-Factor Theory.

Abstract

We tested the fit of the five-factor model of personality with a sample of African American (n = 184) and Caucasian (n = 168) job applicants using confirmatory factor analysis with tests of invariance across groups. Indicators for the analyses were responses to the 80 Bipolar Adjective Checklist. The results provided moderate support for the five-factor theory for both groups, and the addition of corresponding constraints on the factor loadings, factor correlations, and latent means did not lead to a significant loss in model fit. There were only differences on four elements of the error matrices. Thus, for the most part, the five-factor model fit equally well for African American and Caucasian applicants. However, for both groups, all factors were highly intercorrelated consistent with an ideal responding response set. Implications for Black psychology, I/O psychology, and the five-factor theory are discussed.