Cross-Cultural Study of Psychological Types at the Years of Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

Emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent social roles and exploration during the late teens and twenties. It is a period of the course of life that is culturally constructed, not universal or immutable (Arnett, 2000). This assumption led to the idea for comparison of this age in three cultures - Bulgarian, Hawaiian and New Zealand. The Myers-Briggs type indicator, Form G, was administered (Myers et al., 1998). The sample consisted of 289 respondents, aged 18-29, respectively the Bulgarians were 100, the Hawaiians were 89 and the New Zealanders were 100. Six SRTT comparisons were made. The results show that there were typological differences that distinguished the group of Bulgarians, aged 18-29, from their peers from Hawaii, USA and New Zealand. The specificity was expressed in preference to N, P, T, IN, NP, NT, IP, TP and INTP. This finding is largely consistent with the pursuit of new experience and opportunities, typical for the years of emerging adulthood. As well, there were some typological differences between the gender groups.

Language: Bulgarian