A comparative study of the general factor of personality in Jewish and non-Jewish populations

• It is hypothesized that Jews score higher on the general factor of personality.
• Results from three samples support the hypothesis.
• The results persist when controlling for intelligence.
• There is a Jensen Effect for the Jewish–non-Jewish difference.

It was hypothesized that Jews would have a personality profile characterized by high levels of the general factor of personality (GFP). Analyses based on three large samples supported this hypothesis. Additionally, the Jewish/non-Jewish group difference on personality traits exhibited a Jensen Effect with the largest difference between groups being on the traits that had the highest loadings on the GFP. Future research should focus on investigating how the high Jewish GFP is manifested in behavioral and social outcomes.