Abstract: Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) was developed and colla-borated by the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences andthe Department of Psychology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, whichwas strictly studied using the method of constructing personality scale. Thedevelopment of the CPAI included the following four steps: a) establishmentof the constructs to be measured by personality and clinical scales; b)generation of scale items; c) construction of the CPAI; d) standardization ofthe CPAI. The final inventory consisted of 22 personality scales, 12 clinicalscales and an infrequency seale (35 scales and 510 items in total). Throughpractical examination and statistical analysis, it was shown that CPAI hadhigh reliability and validity and could be used in many fields in China.

Key words: personality assessment, personality trait, normal distribution, standard score, factor analysis