[Japanese mimetic words "Gitai-go" used to describe personality: classification and semantics].

This study investigated Japanese mimetic words "Gitai-go" that can describe personality, through classification based on factor analysis and correlation analysis with the Five Factor Personality Questionnaire (FFPQ). Japanese participants, mostly undergraduates (344 men and 702 women), were asked to rate themselves on a five point scale on each of 120 words. Factor analysis of the ratings yielded six groups of words.: "Cowardliness", "Slowness", "Preciseness," "Irritableness", "Candidness," and "Frivolousness". Correlations between these ratings and the personality scales were as follows. (1) "Cowardliness" showed a positive correlation with Emotionality, and a negative correlation with Extroversion. (2) "Preciseness" had a high correlation (r = .70) with Controlling and a low positive correlation with Extroversion and Attachment. (3) "Irritableness" showed a negative correlation with Attachment and a positive correlation with Emotionality. (4) Low negative correlations were observed between "Slowness" and Extroversion, "Candidness" and Emotionality, and "Frivolousness" and Controlling. The ambiguous but expressive nature of mimetic words was discussed in relation to the conceptualizations and descriptions of personality used in daily interaction.