Sex Differences in Personality in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Research has consistently found that there are sex differences in self-reported personality traits. Studies have also found that there are intercultural variations in the magnitude of these sex-based personality differences, with these differences being the most pronounced in prosperous, gender-egalitarian Western societies. In this study, we contribute to this body of research by exploring sex-related personality differences on the HEXACO personality inventory in a large student sample in Saudi Arabia. Consistent with previous research, we find that sex differences in personality are of rather small magnitude, in line with the Socioecological Complexity Hypothesis whereby personality differentiation is found to be more pronounced the more complex a society is. We also report substantial sex differences in response styles, with acquiescent responding and evidence of “careless responding“ higher in males than in females