Frank, Tanya2016-02-192016-02-192016-02-19http://hdl.handle.net/10539/19600A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Psychology). 30 June 2015Acceptance of the amendment to the Employment Equity Act in August 2014 brings a renewed emphasis on the importance of utilizing psychometrically sound measuring instruments in the South African context to ensure that no particular group is unfairly discriminated against. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the NEO Personality Inventory 3 in the multicultural South African environment by exploring critical issues related to the reliability, validity and possible bias of the instrument. A non-probability convenience sample was utilized; which consisted of 272 South African individuals in Johannesburg. Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha, Exploratory Factor Analyses and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were employed in the exploration of internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and construct bias. The final results indicated that the NEO-PI-3 and FFM are applicable in the South African context at the domain level, with some variation at the facet level. Compliance in particular appeared to be problematic in the South African context. Keywords: Bias; Five Factor Model; NEO-PI-3; Personality; Psychometric Assessment; Reliability; ValidityenThesis