Measurement Invariance and the Socioecological Complexity Hypothesis

Lukaszewski et al. (2017) advanced a socioecological theory to account for differences in the strengths of covariances among disparate personality measurements in different cultures. They tested their theory using personality data gathered from 55 countries, and argued the results of their analysis implicated socioecological complexity as a modifier of personality trait covariances, thus providing evidence against rival explanations for observed differences in personality trait covariances between countries (e.g., life-history theory). While the socioecological complexity hypothesis is novel and interesting, we suggest that the analytic approach and several of the decisions made by Lukaszewski et al. are conceptually and analytically flawed. Accordingly, their findings should be considered cautiously and not construed as evidence against alternative explanations for differences in personality or other behavioral trait covariances within or across countries. Ultimately, their analyses can not empirically adjudicate their hypothesis or provide any means to decide between it and competing ones.