The Use of the Kirton Adaption-innovation Inventory in Thailand: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The generalisability of Western personality research to non-Western cultures is challenged when concepts and constructs rooted in one culture (the UK) are transported to another (Thai), particularly where there is purportedly a marked difference in the concept of self. The Kirton Adaption-innovation (KAI) inventory (Kirton 2006) when viewed from a Western perspective comprises items that are related to both the Innovative and Adaptive poles; the items associated with the latter pole are reverse-scored within the measure to align with the Innovative items (r= 0.41, p< 0.001 n=562) so as to provide an Innovatively oriented scale of 32 items (Mean=95 Alpha=0.88). In the Thai sample, while there were no significant differences in the item scores the Innovative items were negatively related to the reversed-scored Adaptive items (r= -0.37 p< 0.001 n=202), in effect bringing together the two opposite poles of the bipolar concept into a single holistic group (e.g. Nisbett & Peng 1999; Spencer Rogers & Peng 2005). While the factor configuration for the Thai sample was fragmented a number of the more significant items were selected to represent the original three factors of the Kai scale. This scale of 15 items was factored and the three original factors were easily identified. However, the Innovative items (the factor SO) retained their negative relationship with other items in the scale.