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Judging Personal Values and Personality Traits: Accuracy and its Relation to Visibility
Abstract
Personality judgment research typically focuses on traits, and visibility of traits often predicts judgmental accuracy. However, visibility and accuracy of values are not well-explored. It was predicted that visibility and accuracy would be positively related, and values would be judged more accurately than traits. In groups of 3 acquaintances, 204 undergraduates completed self-report measures of traits and values, and other-reports of acquaintances. A separate sample of 247 participants assessed visibility. Values were rated as more visible than traits, but traits were judged more accurately than values. Correlations between visibility and item-level accuracy for both values and traits were small and non-significant. The ease with which people think values and traits can be judged may differ from the accuracy of judgments.
... Person perception is a broad area of research that investigates both the processes that take place when one person perceives another and the bias and accuracy of the judgments that result. Ordinary observers can perceive many aspects of other people, such as dispositions and characteristics that are relatively stable across situations and over time, including broad personality traits such as the Big Five personality dimensions (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism/emotional stability, and openness to experience/intellect; Biesanz et al., 2007;Funder, 2012;Letzring and Human, 2014) or more specific aspects of people such as trustworthiness (Rule et al., 2013), personal values, morals, or character (Goodwin et al., 2014;McDonald and Letzring, 2016), and how risky people are and how they perceive risk levels (Mishra and Sritharan, 2012;Vineyard, 2016). People also form perceptions of psychological states that change relatively frequently (compared to traits), including emotion or affect (Banziger, 2016;Hall et al, 2008), thoughts and feelings (Hodges et al., 2015;Ickes, 2016), and deceptiveness vs. truth-telling (Burgoon and Dunbar, 2016). ...
... Traits that are associated with more external cues and behaviors tend to be more accurately judged, whereas traits that are associated with more internal manifestations, such as thoughts and emotions, tend to be less accurately judged (Funder and Dobroth, 1987;John and Robins, 1993;Paunonen and Kam, 2014;Watson et al., 2000). However, some research has found that the link between visibility and accuracy only holds with low-to-moderate levels of acquaintance between judges and targets, not for high levels of acquaintance (Paunonen, 1989), or that the link does not exist at all within a highly acquainted sample (McDonald and Letzring, 2016). Another aspect of traits that has been examined is ratability, which is similar to visibility but broader in that it also includes other aspects such as whether traits describe behaviors that are likely to be performed publicly vs. privately, and the difficulty of the words used to describe a trait (Paunonen and Kam, 2014). ...
... One future direction is to examine a larger variety of personality traits to test the generalizability and specificity of current knowledge. Much of the more current work in this area has focused on the Big Five personality traits, although some researchers have examined other traits, such as trustworthiness (Rule et al., 2013), perceptions of and attitudes toward risk (Mishra and Sritharan, 2012;Vineyard, 2016), and concepts similar to traits such as personal values (McDonald and Letzring, 2016). Research about domains beyond the Big Five would broaden our understanding of the cues that are important for judging certain traits and is likely to increase the applicability of this area of research. ...
of research on interpersonal accuracy of trait judgments.
... Although the patterns of relationship initiation observed in this research were generally focused on self-regulatory traits (i.e., conscientiousness and self-control) in potential partners, that some other traits did influence interest suggests these patterns are not exclusively oriented at how others might help with goal pursuit. One explanation for why extraversion and conscientiousness emerged as factors that moderated interest is because they are both positive and visible (Connelly & Ones, 2010;McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Although one might expect perceivers with high self-control to avoid negative personality traits such as neuroticism or attachment avoidance, these traits may have been more difficult to observe in a brief interaction (McDonald & Letzring, 2016;Tu et al., 2022). ...
... One explanation for why extraversion and conscientiousness emerged as factors that moderated interest is because they are both positive and visible (Connelly & Ones, 2010;McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Although one might expect perceivers with high self-control to avoid negative personality traits such as neuroticism or attachment avoidance, these traits may have been more difficult to observe in a brief interaction (McDonald & Letzring, 2016;Tu et al., 2022). Prior research has not examined whether positivity embracement is an observable characteristic in others, but it is possible that its observability or indication of warmth contributed to its influence on relationship interest. ...
People are drawn to and like others who are physically attractive. In the present research, we investigated the influence of trait self-control on individuals’ interest in relationships with physically attractive others. We hypothesized that high (vs. low) self-control individuals would approach relationships by considering information beyond appearance about potential partners, including partners’ self-control. We additionally explored the influence of other traits (e.g., Big 5, self-esteem, and attachment styles) on relationship interest. Across studies, we consistently found that individuals with higher self-control avoided pursuing relationships with attractive individuals who display low self-control. In Study 3, we observed a similar pattern for three other traits: conscientiousness, extraversion, and positivity embracement. These results suggest perceivers’ self-control shapes relationship interest, particularly when attractive individuals possess less desirable qualities. The findings extend past research that attractiveness increases interest in others and highlights the potential for trait self-control to direct relationship interest during initial interactions.
... This raises the question of whether people display meta-accuracy of values in the first place. Previous work has found that people are significantly accurate in judging their acquaintances' values (McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Building from these results, it is plausible that people may also display significant levels of meta-accuracy for values. ...
... People displayed the highest levels of distinctive meta-accuracy for personality, replicating the pattern of results for overall accuracy found by McDonald and Letzring (2016), and displayed the lowest levels of distinctive meta-accuracy for emotions. Although distinctive emotion meta-accuracy for emotions may be neutral in valence, it could be interpreted by participants as less appealing and more threatening. ...
Introduction:
Do people (i.e., metaperceivers) know their romantic partners' (i.e., perceivers') impressions, displaying meta-accuracy? Is it related to relationship well-being? We explored two components of meta-accuracy: 1) positive meta-accuracy (i.e., knowing the perceiver's positive impressions of the metaperceiver), and 2) distinctive meta-accuracy (i.e., knowing the perceiver's unique impressions of the metaperceiver). We first compared baseline levels of each component across three domains (personality, emotions, values), and then, examined and compared their links with relationship well-being.
Method:
A sample of 205 romantic couples were recruited. The Social Accuracy Model was adapted for analyses.
Results:
Metaperceivers displayed both positive and distinctive meta-accuracy across all domains, and displayed greater positive emotion meta-accuracy and distinctive personality meta-accuracy compared to the other domains. Positive meta-accuracy in general was related to metaperceivers' relationship well-being and distinctive meta-accuracy in general was related to relationship well-being for metaperceivers and perceivers. Further, positive personality meta-accuracy was related to relationship well-being for metaperceivers, and positive emotion meta-accuracy was related to relationship well-being for metaperceivers and perceivers.
Conclusion:
Overall, the present research broadens the meta-accuracy literature by expanding it to a novel domain (values) and highlighting the relative contributions of domains that has been previously explored in isolation (personality and emotions).
... This raises the question of whether people display meta-accuracy of values in the first place. Previous work has found that people are significantly accurate in judging their acquaintances' values (McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Building from these results, it is plausible that people may also display significant levels of meta-accuracy for values. ...
... People displayed the highest levels of distinctive meta-accuracy for personality, replicating the pattern of results for overall accuracy found by McDonald and Letzring (2016), and displayed the lowest levels of distinctive meta-accuracy for emotions. Although distinctive emotion meta-accuracy for emotions may be neutral in valence, it could be interpreted by participants as less appealing and more threatening. ...
... This raises the question of whether people display meta-accuracy of values in the first place. Previous work has found that people are significantly accurate in judging their acquaintances' values (McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Building from these results, it is plausible that people may also display significant levels of meta-accuracy for values. ...
... People displayed the highest levels of distinctive metaaccuracy for personality, replicating the pattern of results for overall accuracy found by McDonald and Letzring (2016), and displayed the lowest levels of distinctive metaaccuracy for emotions. Although distinctive emotion meta-accuracy for emotions may be neutral in valence, it could be interpreted by participants as less appealing and more threatening. ...
Do people know how their romantic partner (i.e., the perceiver) views the self’s (i.e, the metaperceiver’s) emotions, displaying emotion meta-accuracy? Is it relevant to relationship quality? Using a sample of romantic couples (Ncouples=189), we found evidence for two types of emotion meta-accuracy across three different interactions: 1) normative emotion meta-accuracy, knowing perceivers’ impressions of metaperceivers’ emotions that are in line with how the average person may feel, and 2) distinctive emotion meta-accuracy, knowing perceivers’ unique impression of metaperceivers’ emotions. Further, across interactions, normative emotion meta- accuracy was positively related to momentary relationship quality for metaperceivers and perceivers, and this link was especially in the conflict interaction. Distinctive emotion meta- accuracy was negatively related to momentary relationship quality across interactions for perceivers, and in the conflict interaction for metaperceivers. Overall, it may be adaptive for metaperceivers to accurately infer perceivers’ normative impressions, and to remain blissfully unaware of their unique impressions.
... Spending significant amounts of time with an individual increases the chances of obtaining value-based messages from them, and therefore, gaining an impression of their values (Dobewall, Aavik, Konstabel, Schwartz, & Realo, 2014). Lastly, research shows that there are significant positive correlations between self-other value ratings; a finding which validates this design (Dobewall et al., 2014;McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Finally, while victims and offenders have the best access to their own values, they may also be more prone 13 to social desirability biases. ...
... This inconsistency may be due to the difficulty in assessing the importance of power for another individual. Research has shown that the statistical agreement between self-other ratings of power values is lower than that for other values (McDonald & Letzring, 2016). This may explain why there was less consistency when facilitators were asked to reflect upon power values, because such judgements are more difficult, and therefore less reliable. ...
Restorative justice is a process whereby offenders and their victims communicate to address the harm caused by the crime. Currently, there is little research looking at what characterises victims and offenders who are willing to participate in this process, who benefits, and what changes occur after participating. Personal values may be important in understanding such questions because they can influence human behaviour, appraisals of behaviour, and can change following life experiences. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the role that the values within Schwartz’s value theory may have in answering these questions. This was accomplished through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 12 restorative justice facilitators. Consistently, the motivations they observed for both victims and offenders participating in restorative justice included themes of prosocial values. Additionally, prosocial values were among those highlighted as being important for the realisation of the benefits of restorative justice. There was also some preliminary evidence that this process may change what values are important for both victims and offenders. Overall, these findings have implications for restorative justice providers; a greater understanding of motivations, who will benefit, and how restorative justice can be presented to appeal to a wide audience.
... With sufficient exposure (e.g., meeting for 20 minutes once per week for 7 weeks; Paulhus & Bruce, 1992), moderate self-other agreement in personality trait perception is typically observed (e.g., Biesanz et al., 2007;Blackman & Funder, 1998;Colvin & Funder, 1991;Funder & Colvin, 1988;Letzring et al., 2006). Moreover, self-other agreement has been documented for dispositional motivations including motives, needs, and values (e.g., Doeze Jager et al., 2017;Huelsnitz et al., 2020;LaBuda et al., 2019;McDonald & Letzring, 2016). ...
Research on achievement goals is voluminous but focused primarily on intrapersonal regulation. In the present article, we emphasize the integral role that achievement goals also play in the broader process of interpersonal judgment. We establish a new interpersonal approach to achievement goals that integrates the extensive achievement goal literature with the well-established social relations model (SRM). We introduce and formally define the interpersonal concept of achievement goal perception, present a formal methodological approach to studying this novel concept using a Bayesian implementation of the multivariate SRM (MSRM), and put the proposed integrative approach to the test with an in-depth empirical study that directly addresses fundamental questions of achievement goal perception. In this empirical study, we measured four types of achievement goal perceptions—mastery-approach (MAP), mastery-avoidance (MAV), performance-approach (PAP), performance-avoidance (PAV)—across 1,809 student–classmate dyads from 42 small discussion-based undergraduate classes. Results indicated a predominantly perceiver-driven process consisting of self-other agreement for MAP, MAV, and PAV goals but not PAP goals, assumed similarity for each achievement goal, and greater assumed similarity among closer classmates. Achievement goal perception provided incremental predictive utility for two gold-standard educational outcomes—academic performance and intrinsic motivation—among both perceivers and targets, and four additional educationally relevant constructs—perceived class value, perceived effort investment, perceived competence, and peer help-seeking—among perceivers. Having laid the theoretical, methodological, and empirical foundations, we discuss this new interpersonal approach to achievement goals alongside contemporary research on achievement motivation and interpersonal judgment.
... Salah satu kompetensi yang harus dimiliki penyelenggaraan pendidikan adalah kompetensi kepribadian atau nilai personal, sebagaimana telah diatur dalam undang-undang mengenai standar kompetensi. Sifat dan nilai merupakan bagian dari kepribadian, kepribadian individu terdiri dari banyak sifat yang berbeda, meliputi nilai-nilai personal, karakteristik, ciri-ciri, kepribadian, sikap, dan kepercayaan (McDonald & Letzring, 2016). Nilai personal timbul dari pengalaman pribadi seseorang yang membentuk dasar perilaku seseorang yang nyata melalui pola perilaku yang konsisten serta menjadi kontrol internal bagi seseorang. ...
p class="Abstrak"> Abstract: The objective of the research is to find personal and spiritual values in the leadership behaviour of school personnel that can increase the attractiveness of madrasas. This study used a multi-site approach, with data sources using purposive sampling and snowball sampling. Data collection techniques using in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. Data analysis by describing data, collecting data, reducing data, presenting data, and drawing conclusions and analysing data across sites. The results in this study found that the personal value of school personnel that can increase the attractiveness of madrasah is the value of caring, sympathy. the ability to work together, the value of trust and humility. while the spiritual values of school personnel that can increase the attractiveness of madrasas are the values of kindness, empathy, integrity, encouraging hope and belief in the standard of excellence and the value of integrity.
Abstrak: Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menemukan nilai-nilai personal dan spiritual dalam perilaku kepemimpinan personil sekolah yang dapat meningkatkan daya tarik madrasah. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan multi situs dengan sumber data menggunakan purposive sampling dan snowball sampling . Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan wawancara mendalam, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Analisis data dengan mendeskripsikan data, mengumpulkan data, mereduksi data, menyajikan data, dan pengambilan kesimpulan serta analisis data lintas situs. Hasil dalam penelitian ini menemukan nilai personal personil sekolah yang dapat meningkatkan daya tarik madrasah adalah nilai kepedulian, simpatik. kemampuan bekerja sama, nilai kepercayaan dan kerendahan hati. sedangkan nilai spiritual personil sekolah yang dapat meningkatkan daya tarik madrasah adalah nilai kebaikan, empati, integritas, mendorong harapan dan keyakinan pada standar keunggulan dan nilai integritas.
... Several factors influence the ease of using observation to confirm or disconfirm a target's trait: (a) some traits have more clear, observable behaviors associated with them (e.g., aggressive vs. boring); (b) during normal social interaction, situations arise that elicit the behaviors associated with some traits more readily than others (e.g., generous vs. revengeful); and (c) more behaviors must be witnessed before some traits can be confirmed or disconfirmed, compared with others (e.g., kind vs. jealous; Rothbart & Park, 1986). Moreover, as the above would suggest, people tend to draw less accurate inferences about characteristics associated with less observable cues (Funder & Dobroth, 1987;Kenrick & Stringfield, 1980; but also see May & Reinhardt, 2018;McDonald & Letzring, 2016, in which accuracy of judgments of Big Five personality traits, Schwartz Values, and mindfulness were not significantly related to the visibility/observability of these dimensions). ...
Social perceivers seek to understand the opportunities and threats others potentially afford—for example, whether a teammate will behave tenaciously or a romantic partner, faithfully. We typically detect affordances and draw trait inferences by observing behaviors that reveal or predict others’ likely intentions and characteristics. However, detection and inference from simple observation are often difficult (e.g., even dishonest people are frequently honest, people often mask unpopular beliefs). In such cases, we propose that people test, actively manipulating others’ circumstances to reveal hard-to-observe affordances and characteristics. The Observation-Testing Model is a framework predicting circumstances under which testing is more likely to happen, which affordances and characteristics are more likely to be tested for, and which people are more likely to test and be tested. We identify preliminary support for the model from a range of literatures (e.g., employment assessment, coming-of-age rituals, dating processes) and identify areas needing further research.
... This allows considering time perspectives as an integral part of self-awareness and personality structure, it is a kind of prism through which a person looks at his past, present and future life unconsciously and subjectively, it affects his attitudes, values and beliefs, which ultimately affects his thoughts, feelings, and behavior (Erez et al., 2008;McDonald & Letzring, 2016;Newman et al., 2017). This is especially evident in all three periods of adulthood (early (18-25 years old), middle (26-46 years old), and mature (47-60 years old)). ...
... Relative to neutral traits, self-perception of evaluative traits is more likely to be distorted in an ego-protective manner than other-perception of those traits (Kenny & West, 2010;Vazire, 2010). Thus, there is often reduced self-other agreement on highly evaluative traits, thereby leading to a self-other knowledge asymmetry in which informants are more accurate raters of these traits than the self (McDonald & Letzring, 2016;Vazire, 2010). Notably, however, some research has failed to demonstrate a negative relationship between high evaluativeness and self-other agreement (Paunonen & Kam, 2014;Ready, Clark, Watson, & Westerhouse, 2000). ...
Five-factor personality ratings were provided by undergraduate freshmen, their parents, and their college peers as predictors of cumulative GPA upon graduation. Conscientiousness ratings were significant predictors of GPA by all three raters; peer ratings of Conscientiousness were the only significant predictor of GPA when self-, parent-, and peer-ratings of Conscientiousness were examined simultaneously. College major was a moderator of this relationship, with self- and parent-ratings of Conscientiousness correlating more strongly with GPA among Social Science majors and parent-ratings of Conscientiousness correlating less strongly with GPA among Science majors. These findings replicate existing research regarding the validity of informant ratings as predictors of behavioral outcomes such as academic performance, while emphasizing the importance of including multiple informants from various life contexts.
... Even with very minimal amounts of information--for example, with initial impressions of personality based on less than five min-utes of interaction or observation--judges can achieve statistically significant levels of accuracy (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992), especially for more visible personality traits such as Extraversion (Borkenau, Brecke, Möttig, & Paelecke, 2009;Borkenau, Mauer, Riemann, Spinath, & Angleitner, 2004;Funder & Dobroth, 1987;John & Robins, 1993;Paunonen, 1989). However, there is evidence that these trait visibility effects tend to diminish or disappear among well-acquainted pairs (McDonald & Letzring, 2016;Paunonen, 1989). In fact, well-acquainted individuals can accurately judge most major dimensions of personality and tend to do so with higher levels of accuracy than are found in first impressions, which has been labeled the acquaintanceship effect (Bernieri, Zuckerman, Koestner, & Rosenthal, 1994;Colvin & Funder, 1991;Funder & Colvin, 1988;Funder, Kolar, & Blackman, 1995;Kenny, Albright, Malloy, & Kashy, 1994). ...
In an investigation of the effects of increasing exposure to information on accuracy of personality trait judgments, judges rated a single target on three successive occasions, each of which involved the introduction of a novel piece of personal information. Varying the order in which types of information were presented allowed us to jointly examine the effects of information quality and quantity on accuracy in personality judgment. We found that (a) in general, more information led to higher accuracy, (b) some types of information led to greater gains in distinctive or normative accuracy, and (c) introduction of lower quality information did not negatively affect accuracy.
... This is consistent with the finding that self-other agreement for some values is higher than for others. McDonald and Letzring (2016) showed that basic values differ in visibility and evaluative strength, which affects self-other agreement. They suggested that some values might be more accurately judged by the self (less observable), whereas other values (more observable and less evaluative) might be more accurately judged by others. ...
The aim of this study was to examine the Schwartz model of values in other-report data. We specifically tested the circular structure and priorities of personal values observed in ratings made by well-acquainted informants. We analysed self-and other-reports of preferences of 19 basic and four higher-order values provided by 422 participants (M age = 30.02, SD age = 13.99) using the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ-5x). The self-other agreement corrected for measurement bias ranged from .29 to .78 for basic values and from .51 to .67 for higher-order values. The findings indicated that basic values measured via other-reports form a circular structure consistent with the Schwartz theory. The hierarchy of values based on other-reports only slightly differed from the hierarchy based on self-reports. conclusions The results suggest that both self-and other-ratings of personal values yield meaningful information that contributes to each.
Key words: personal values; circular structure; other-reports; self-other agreement
This handbook reviews theory and research on the accuracy of personality judgments. The various chapters explain the major theoretical models that guide research in this area, describe various methodological approaches to evaluating accuracy, and review recent empirical findings. Topics considered include moderators of accuracy including judge, target, trait, and information. Chapters also summarize recent work on self-other asymmetry, the accuracy of self-knowledge, meta-perceptions and meta-accuracy. The various pieces of information used in making personality judgments, including nonverbal cues, contextual and environmental information, normative information, and group stereotypes are identified and their roles in accurate judgment are described. Examples of some of the domains to which accuracy research can be applied including interpersonal relationships, clinical practice, the workplace, and accuracy training are included. And finally, possible future directions for the study and application of accurate personality judgments are provided.
Personality traits are characteristics of individuals that predict patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior over time. Research focusing on accuracy of judgments of the traits of others has found that certain traits are more easily judged than others. Traits such as extraversion tend to be judged with high levels of accuracy, while other traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience are more difficult to judge. Several factors play a role in these findings, such as the observability and ratability of traits, favorability and evaluativeness of traits, and the types of situations and relationships in which judgments are made. In this chapter, research investigating how these factors are related to accuracy of judgments for different traits is described, potential ways to improve accuracy of less easily-judged traits are proposed, and directions for future research are identified.
This personal historical article traces the development of the Big-Five factor structure, whose growing acceptance by personality researchers has profoundly influenced the scientific study of individual differences. The roots of this taxonomy lie in the lexical hypothesis and the insights of Sir Francis Galton, the prescience of L. L. Thurstone, the legacy of Raymond B. Cattell, and the seminal analyses of Tupes and Christal. Paradoxically, the present popularity of this model owes much to its many critics, each of whom tried to replace it, but failed. In reaction, there have been a number of attempts to assimilate other models into the five-factor structure. Lately, some practical implications of the emerging consensus can be seen in such contexts as personnel selection and classification.
Unlabelled:
BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: The "age stability" hypothesis suggests that adults have significant continuities in values over time, whereas the "situational influence" hypothesis suggests that change continues, especially in response to new events and experiences. Deeply ingrained, terminal values may be more stable than other, more instrumental, values. Less research examines changing values than examines changing personality traits and attitudes.
Methods:
Hypotheses were tested with data from A Study of Leisure During Adulthood (ASOLDA), a 9-year panel study of middle-aged adults (average age of 45 at the beginning of data collection). Mixed-model regressions and descriptive statistics were used to examine changes and stability over time in global values, measured by the List of Values (LOV), and instrumental values related to leisure.
Results:
Significant correlations were found in both terminal and instrumental values over time (autocorrelations ranging from .13 to .23). There was no linear or curvilinear pattern of change over time. Respondents reported a wide range of positive and negative life events and variations over time in reflections on their life structure, but these variations were unrelated to changes in values.
Conclusion:
Results support the age stability hypothesis, rather than the situational influence hypothesis, with similar results for both terminal and instrumental values. It is suggested that the consistent values of respondents may have helped them weather the wide range of often-difficult circumstances many reported experiencing. Future research should examine this hypothesis.
Can we judge other people’s values accurately, or are values too subjective to assess? We compared self-other agreement in personal values with agreement in the Big Five personality traits. Self-other agreement in four higher-order values (median r = .47) and in six culture-specific value factors (median r = .50) was substantial and similar to that for the Big Five personality traits (median r = .51). When corrected for attenuation due to measurement error self-other agreement was high for all three scales (median rs > .65). The results suggest that people can assess values of others whom they know well with remarkable accuracy. Therefore, other-ratings of personal values can be used to validate and complement self-report value measures.
Societal value consensus has been widely discussed but rarely studied empirically. The authors developed a definition and an operational index for value consensus suitable for cross-national comparisons. They then generated and tested hypotheses concerning causal impacts of socioeconomic development and political democratization on both value importance and value consensus in a society. Data are from matched samples of teachers from 42 nations (N = 7,856) who completed a survey that measures 10 distinct types of values. Both development and democratization correlate positively with the importance of openness and self-transcendence values, and negatively with the importance of conservation and self-enhancement values. Development and democratization have opposite relations to value consensus, suppressing one another’s effects. Development increases overall value consensus, whereas democratization decreases it. Differences between effects on specific value types are discussed.
A person's judgeability, or the extent to which a person is easy to understand, plays an important role in how accurately a target will be perceived by others. Research on this topic, however, has not been systematic or well-integrated. The current review begins to remedy this by integrating the available research on judgeability from the fields of personality perception, nonverbal communication, and social cognition. Specifically, this review summarizes the characteristics that are likely to promote judgeability and explores its potential consequences. A diverse range of characteristics are identified as predictors of judgeability, all relating to three broader categories: psychological adjustment, social status, and socialization. Furthermore, being judgeable has a variety of potential, largely positive, consequences for the target, leaving good targets poised for greater personal and interpersonal well-being. Nevertheless, many questions on this topic remain and it is crucial for this relatively understudied topic to receive more systematic empirical attention.
Do personality traits predict the goals a person chooses to pursue in life? The present study examined the relation between personality traits and major life goals, which are broad, far-reaching agendas for important life domains (N = 672). The authors used both theoretical and empirical procedures to organize a set of life goals into thematic content clusters (economic, aesthetic, social, relationship, political, hedonistic, religious); the resulting goal clusters constitute a preliminary taxonomy of motive units based on the fundamental value domains identified in the literature. The authors examined gender differences on each goal cluster and related the goal clusters to individual differences in the Big Five and narcissism. High extraversion and low agreeableness (e.g., narcissism) was the most common profile associated with major life goals, and neuroticism was essentially unrelated to the importance of major life goals. Findings confirmed expectations derived from previous research and from Socioanalytic and narcissism theories.
The authors relate Big Five personality traits to basic values in a sample of 246 students. As hypothesized, Agreeableness correlates most positively with benevolence and tradition values, Openness with self-direction and universalism values, Extroversion with achievement and stimulation values, and Conscientiousness with achievement and conformity values. Correlations of values with facets of the five factors reveal nuances of the facets and clarify ambiguities in the meanings of the factors. Values and personality traits exhibit different patterns of correlation with religiosity and positive affect. Findings support the idea that the influence of values on behavior depends more on cognitive control than does the influence of traits.
Several studies demonstrate that Schwartz’s (1992) theory of human values is valid in cultures previously beyond its range. We measured the 10 value constructs in the theory with the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), a new and less abstract method. Analyses in representative samples in South Africa (n = 3,210) and Italy (n = 5,867) and in samples of 13- to 14-year-old Ugandan girls (n = 840) yielded structures of relations among values similar to the theoretical prototype. In an Israeli student sample (n = 200), the values exhibited convergent and discriminant validity when measured with the PVQ and with the standard value survey. Predicted relations of value priorities with a set of 10 background, personality, attitude, and behavioral variables in the four samples supported the construct validity of the values theory with an alternative method of measurement.
The social accuracy model of interpersonal perception (SAM) is a componential model that estimates perceiver and target effects of different components of accuracy across traits simultaneously. For instance, Jane may be generally accurate in her perceptions of others and thus high in perceptive accuracy—the extent to which a particular perceiver's impressions are more or less accurate than other perceivers on average across different targets. Just as well, Jake may be accurately perceived by others and thus high in expressive accuracy—the extent to which a particular target is accurately perceived on average across different perceivers. Perceptive and expressive accuracy can be further decomposed into their constituent components of normative and distinctive accuracy. Thus the SAM represents an integration of Cronbach's componential approach with Kenny's (1994) social relations model. The SAM is illustrated using both a half-block as well as a round-robin design. Key findings include reliable individual differences in several specific aspects of interpersonal perceptions.
Argues that trait adjectives vary in how easily they are confirmed or disconfirmed as descriptive of an individual or group. An analysis of the confirmability and disconfirmability of trait descriptive adjectives is proposed in which traits are seen as varying in (a) the number of occasions that allow for confirming or disconfirming behaviors, (b) the number of relevant behavioral instances necessary to establish (or disconfirm) a trait, and (c) the clarity and specificity relating the trait concept to behavioral exemplars. 82 undergraduates rated 150 trait adjectives on these dimensions, as well as on social desirability and frequency in the population. Ss' judgments on these complex ratings were reliable, and the ratings of these traits on all dimensions were intercorrelated. Systematic relations among favorability, frequency and the indices of confirmability and disconfirmability were obtained. Implications for attributional models and the modifiability of social stereotypes are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The universality of S. H. Schwartz and W. Bilsky's (see record
1988-01444-001) theory of the psychological content and structure of human values was examined with data from Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Spain, and the United States. Smallest space analyses of the importance ratings that individuals assigned to values revealed the same 7 distinct motivational types of values in each sample as had emerged earlier in samples from Germany and Israel: achievement, enjoyment, maturity, prosocial, restrictive conformity, security, self-direction. Social power, studied only in Hong Kong, also emerged. The structural relations among the value types suggest that the motivational dynamics underlying people's value priorities are similar across the societies studied, with an exception in Hong Kong. The interests that values serve (individual vs. collective) and their goal type (instrumental vs. terminal) also distinguished values in all samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted a peer rating study (
N = 111) to determine the effects of (a) level of acquaintanceship between rater and target and (b) degree of public observability of rated personality traits on peers' perceptions of target personality characteristics. As hypothesized, I found the agreement between peer ratings and target self-ratings to vary linearly and directly with acquaintanceship. In addition, acquaintanceship interacted with observability such that the public visibility of the behavior domain being judged was an important determinant of agreement for low to moderately acquainted peer dyads but not for highly acquainted dyads. Contrary to expectations, however, trait observability did not show a main effect with regard to self–peer agreement. The basis of the study is described with reference to the lens model of inferential behavior, and implications of the results are discussed with reference to past and future attempts at evaluating consensus and accuracy in person perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
We examined the validity of self-reported personality traits and values in predicting self- and peer reports of behavior. Self- and peer reports were obtained from 252 undergraduate students on the HEXACO Personality Inventory, the Schwartz Value Survey, and scales assessing value-expressive behaviors. Self-reports of personality and of values correlated moderately with self-reports of value-expressive behaviors. Correlations with peer reports of these behaviors were almost as large, thus, indicating that the validity of the personality and values variables did generalize across criterion rating sources. Both personality traits and values provided incremental validity beyond the other domain in predicting the behavior criteria, with the personality variables yielding slightly higher validity, on average.
Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the universals in the content and structure of values, concentrating on the theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries, and its four basic issues: substantive contents of human values; identification of comprehensive set of values; extent to which the meaning of particular values was equivalent for different groups of people; and how the relations among different values was structured. Substantial progress has been made toward resolving each of these issues. Ten motivationally distinct value types that were likely to be recognized within and across cultures and used to form value priorities were identified. Set of value types that was relatively comprehensive, encompassing virtually all the types of values to which individuals attribute at least moderate importance as criteria of evaluation was demonstrated. The evidence from 20 countries was assembled, showing that the meaning of the value types and most of the single values that constitute them was reasonably equivalent across most groups. Two basic dimensions that organize value systems into an integrated motivational structure with consistent value conflicts and compatibilities were discovered. By identifying universal aspects of value content and structure, the chapter has laid the foundations for investigating culture-specific aspects in the future.
This article compiles results from a century of social psychological research, more than 25,000 studies of 8 million people. A large number of social psychological conclusions are listed alongside meta-analytic information about the magnitude and variability of the corresponding effects. References to 322 meta-analyses of social psychological phenomena are presented, as well as statistical effect-size summaries. Analyses reveal that social psychological effects typically yield a value of r equal to .21 and that, in the typical research literature, effects vary from study to study in ways that produce a standard deviation in r of .15. Uses, limitations, and implications of this large-scale compilation are noted. In 1898 Norman Triplett published an early experiment in social psychology, about an ef-fect of the presence of others on task perfor-mance. In the 100 years since Triplett's inves-tigation, many social psychological effects have been documented. The current article summa-rizes the best established of these findings, with data from more than 25,000 research studies and 8 million people. Our goal is to quantify the magnitude and variability of social psychologi-cal effects. We begin by considering previous summaries of social psychology, note some un-resolved issues, and review developments that permit a century of scholarly work to be quan-titatively described. For present purposes, we follow Manstead and Hewstone (1995) in re-garding social psychology as the study of "the reciprocal influence of the individual and his or her social context" (p. 588).
A major goal of research on values has been to relate individual differences in value priorities to differences in attitudes, behavior and background variables. Past research most commonly adopted one of two approaches. Much research has selected a few single target values whose priorities were postulated to associate with the attitude, behavior and background variable of interest and then examined empirical relationships. Other research has been more exploratory.It has related lists of values to various other variables and then discussed the significant associations that emerge. The focus on relationships with single values make both these approaches insatisfying. My work has sought to overcome those approaches.It has derived what may be a nearly comprehensive set of different motivational types of values, recognized across cultures. Each value type is represented by a number of single values that are combined to form relatively reliable indexes of values priorities. Value systems can be treated as integrated wholes in their relations with behaviors and, thereby, encourages researches to abandom the prevailing single-values approaches.
Personality and differential psychology have paid little attention to values research. Consequently, the constructs used in these subdisciplines have developed independently, and evidence regarding the relations of personality to values is minimal. This study seeks to advance our understanding of these relations and to arrive at a theoretical integration of constructs. Starting from recent developments in values theory (Schwartz, 1992; Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987, 1990) and drawing on Maslow's (1955) distinction between ‘deficiency’ and ‘growth’ needs, we elaborate theoretical links between personality and values with special emphasis on structural relations. A set of hypotheses regarding these relations is generated and tested next, using data from a study with 331 German students. These students completed both the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) and the Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI), measuring ten primary and two secondary personality variables, namely extraversion and emotionality. Joint Similarity Structure Analyses (SSAs) of values and personality variables were conducted. The findings reveal both meaningful and systematic associations of value priorities with personality variables, confirming the hypothesized structural relationships. The compatibility of our hypotheses with the complex findings of George (1954) using totally different indexes of both values (Allport–Vernon Study of Values) and personality (drawn from Eysenck and Guilford) further supports the theoretical connections proposed in this study.
We constructed a theory of the universal types of values as criteria by viewing values as cognitive representations of three universal requirements: (a) biological needs, (b) interactional requirements for interpersonal coordination, and (c) societal demands for group welfare and survival. From these requirements, we have derived and presented conceptual and operational definitions for eight motivational domains of values: enjoyment, security, social power, achievement, self-direction, prosocial, restrictive conformity, and maturity. In addition, we have mapped values according to the interests they serve (individualistic vs. collectivist) and the type of goal to which they refer (terminal vs. instrumental). We postulated that the structural organization of value systems reflects the degree to which giving high priority simultaneously to different values is motivationally and practically feasible or contradictory. To test our theory, we performed smallest space analyses on ratings given by subjects from Israel (N = 455) and Germany (N = 331) of the importance of 36 Rokeach values as guiding principles in their lives. Partitioning of the obtained multidimensional space into regions revealed that people do indeed discriminate among values according to our a priori specifications of goal types, interests served, and motivational domains in both societies. Moreover, the motivational domains of values are organized dynamically in relation to one another in both societies, as predicted by the patterns of compatible or contradictory motivation and practical consequences. We have noted additional values and domains possibly needed for a universal scheme as well as potential applications of this approach for comparing the meanings, structure, and importance of values across cultures, for analyzing relations between social structure and values, and for predicting and interpreting relations of values to attitudes and behavior.
This article tests a new model for predicting which aspects of personality are best judged by the self and which are best judged by others. Previous research suggests an asymmetry in the accuracy of personality judgments: Some aspects of personality are known better to the self than others and vice versa. According to the self-other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model presented here, the self should be more accurate than others for traits low in observability (e.g., neuroticism), whereas others should be more accurate than the self for traits high in evaluativeness (e.g., intellect). In the present study, 165 participants provided self-ratings and were rated by 4 friends and up to 4 strangers in a round-robin design. Participants then completed a battery of behavioral tests from which criterion measures were derived. Consistent with SOKA model predictions, the self was the best judge of neuroticism-related traits, friends were the best judges of intellect-related traits, and people of all perspectives were equally good at judging extraversion-related traits. The theoretical and practical value of articulating this asymmetry is discussed.
Examined 2 central principles, category breadth and hierarchical structure, in models of trait concepts and their relations. Based on previous theories and research, the authors derived operational definitions of these principles and applied the measures in 4 studies with 190 undergraduates, 111 volunteers, and 38 individuals (approximate mean age 35 yrs) enrolled in evening classes at the University of London. The hierarchical relations between traits differing in breadth were assessed, using a task in which Ss selected the most meaningful of 2 statements, such as "To be talkative is a way of being extroverted" vs "To be extroverted is a way of being talkative". The extent of asymmetry in Ss' choices provided an index of the degree of class inclusion. Overall results show that the size of the asymmetry effect was highly predictable from differences in trait breadth, even when the effects of social desirability, familiarity, and meaningfulness were controlled. These findings were replicated in 2 cultural contexts, and at the level of individual Ss. It is suggested that the availability of traits at different hierarchical levels requires personality psychologists to make an explicit choice about the level of abstraction, especially when studying behavior consistency. The possibility of identifying a generally preferred or basic level of personality description is discussed. (70 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Publisher Summary
The dominant paradigm in current personality psychology is a reinvigorated version of one of the oldest approaches, trait psychology. Personality traits are “dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions.” In this context, trait structure refers to the pattern of co-variation among individual traits, usually expressed as dimensions of personality identified in factor analyses. For decades, the field of personality psychology was characterized by competing systems of trait structure; more recently a consensus has developed that most traits can be understood in terms of the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model. The consensus on personality trait structure is not paralleled by consensus on the structure of affects. The chapter discusses a three-dimensional model, defined by pleasure, arousal, and dominance factors in which it is possible to classify such state-descriptive terms as mighty, fascinated, unperturbed, docile, insolent, aghast, uncaring, and bored. More common are two-dimensional systems with axes of pleasure and arousal or positive and negative affect. These two schemes are interpreted as rotational variants—positive affect is midway between pleasure and arousal, whereas negative affect lies between arousal and low pleasure.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
In the early parts of the 20th century, character made up a major part of psychology, specifically of personality psychology. However, an influential observational study of children's moral behavior, conducted by Hartshorne, May, and colleagues in the 1920s, suggested that consistency in morality-related behavior was lower than many people expected. Some psychologists interpreted such results to mean that there was no consistency in moral behavior and thus that there were no stable, meaningful individual differences in moral behavior – character did not exist. Recent years have witnessed a reinvigoration of character, ethics, and morality as objects of psychological study. Our purpose in this paper is to contribute to this reinvigoration by reviewing the use of the concept of “character” within psychology, considering whether the evidence supports the notion of moral character as a psychological construct, and suggesting new prospects for research on moral character.
Information quality is an important moderator of the accuracy of personality judgment, and this paper describes research focusing on how specific kinds of information are related to accuracy.
228 participants (159 female, 69 male, mean age = 23.43, 86.4% Caucasian) in unacquainted dyads were assigned to discuss thoughts and feelings, discuss behaviors, or engage in behaviors. Interactions lasted 25-30 minutes, and participants provided ratings of their partners and themselves following the interaction on the Big Five traits, ego-control, and ego-resiliency. Next, the amount of different types of information made available by each participant was objectively coded. The accuracy criterion, composed of self and acquaintance ratings, was used to assess distinctive and normative accuracy using the Social Accuracy Model.
Participants in the discussion conditions achieved higher distinctive accuracy than participants who engaged in behaviors, but normative accuracy did not differ across conditions. Information about specific behaviors and general behaviors were among the most consistent predictors of higher distinctive accuracy. Normative accuracy was more likely to decrease than increase when higher quality information was available.
Verbal information about behaviors is the most useful for learning about how people are unique.
In the large scale, nationally representative 1984/5 Health and Lifestyle Survey of British adults, Neuroticism and Extraversion (as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory) were higher in the 200 women and 99 men who had separated or divorced than in the 1836 women and 1734 men who remained married. When such potentially confounding factors as the Lie scale score, age and social class were partialled out, Neuroticism and Extraversion remained greater in the women but not the men who had separated or divorced. Although not large, the findings provide further support that these personality factors may be involved in marital dissolution.
Individual differences in personality may be described at three different levels. Level I consists of those broad, decontextualized, and rela tively nonconditional constructs called "traits," which provide a dispositional signature for personality description. No description of a person is adequate without trait attributions, but trait attributions themselves yield little beyond a "psychology of the stranger." At Level 11 (caBed "personal concems"), per sonality descriptions invoke personal strivings, life tasks, defense mechanisms, coping strategies, domain-specific skills and values, and a wide assortment of other motivational, developmental, or strategic constructs that are contextual ized in time, place, or role. While dispositional traits and personal concems appear to have near-universal applicability, Level III presents frameworks and constructs that may be uniquely relevant to adulthood only, and perhaps only within modem societies that put a premium on the individuation of the self. Thus, in contemporary Westem societies, a full description of personality commonly requires a consideration of the extent to which a human life ex presses unity and purpose, which are the hallmarks of identity. Identity in adulthood is an inner story of the self that integrates the reconstructed past, perceived present, and anticipated future to provide alife with unity, purpose, and meaning. At Level I1I, psychologists may explore the person's identity as an intemalized and evolving life story. Each of the three levels has its own geography and requires its own indigenous nomenclatures, taxonomies, theories, frameworks, and laws.
This study investigated the relation of the "Big Five" personality di- mensions (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Consci- entiousness, and Openness to Experience) to three job performance criteria (job proficiency, training proficiency, and personnel data) for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled). Results indicated that one dimension of person- ality. Conscientiousness, showed consistent relations with all job per- formance criteria for all occupational groups. For the remaining per- sonality dimensions, the estimated true score correlations varied by occupational group and criterion type. Extraversion was a valid pre- dictor for two occupations involving social interaction, managers and sales (across criterion types). Also, both Openness to Experience and Extraversion were valid predictors of the training proficiency criterion (across occupations). Other personality dimensions were also found to be valid predictors for some occupations and some criterion types, but the magnitude of the estimated true score correlations was small (p < .10). Overall, the results illustrate the benefits of using the 5- factor model of personality to accumulate and communicate empirical findings. The findings have numerous implications for research and practice in personnel psychology, especially in the subfields of person- nel selection, training and development, and performance appraisal.
A person's behavior and experiences can be described at different levels of abstraction. For example, a person might be described as charitable , as generous , as kind , or as good . Is there a level in such a trait hierarchy that is particularly useful in personality descriptions? The present 4 studies show that there is indeed a general preference for a particular level; the size of this preference depends on the familiarity and likability of the target people, which included various others and the self. These findings suggest that in trait hierarchies, people prefer the highest level of abstraction that is still descriptive of behavior (e.g., kind ) over more descriptive subordinate levels (e.g., charitable and generous ) and over an even broader level devoid of descriptive meaning (e.g., good ). This level is basic in that it represents the optimal resolution of the trade-off between bandwidth and fidelity that characterizes all hierarchies.
Personality psychology has never suffered from a shortage of theoretical constructs. Terms such as motive, trait, value, wish, attitude, goal, belief, schema, and need represent a mere sampling of the conceptual units that have been employed in the pursuit of understanding the human personality. Of these, motives and traits have clearly received the lion’s share of the attention, and most personologists would agree that these two are the primary tools existing in our conceptual armamentarium with which to attack emerging issues in personality. One of the emerging issues confronting the field today is mapping the conceptual and empirical relationships between trait-based and motive-based structures. The purposes of this chapter are to address the issues involved in this mapping, and to provide an example of how it may be possible to address the interrelations between these units of analysis empirically.
Computer mediated communication (CMC) plays a rapidly growing role in our social lives. Within this domain, e-mail addresses represent the thinnest slice of information that people receive from one another. Using 599 e-mail addresses of young adults, their self-reported personality scores and the personality judgments of 100 independent observers, it was shown that personality impressions based solely on e-mail addresses were consensually shared by observers. Moreover, these impressions contained some degree of validity. This was true for neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientious- ness, and narcissism but not for extraversion. Level of accuracy was explained using lens model analyses: Lay observers made broad use of perceivable e-mail address features in their personality judgments, features were slightly valid and observers were sensitive to subtle differences in validity between cues. Altogether, even the thinnest slice of CMC—the mere e-mail address—contains valid information about the personality of its owner.
Sample correlations converge to the population value with increasing sample size, but the estimates are often inaccurate in small samples. In this report we use Monte-Carlo simulations to determine the critical sample size from which on the magnitude of a correlation can be expected to be stable. The necessary sample size to achieve stable estimates for correlations depends on the effect size, the width of the corridor of stability (i.e., a corridor around the true value where deviations are tolerated), and the requested confidence that the trajectory does not leave this corridor any more. Results indicate that in typical scenarios the sample size should approach 250 for stable estimates.
Many current trait theorists suggest that a consensus is emerging around the Big Five as the basic structure of personality. This target article gives critical consideration to the nature of the evidence supporting such a view as well as to more fundamental issues concerning the conceptual status of the trait concept. It is argued that the evidence is less supportive and convincing than is suggested by trait enthusiasts, that there are fundamental problems with the trait concept, and that the trait model is not the only personality model to recognize consistency and coherence in functioning.
Conducted 3 studies with 583 undergraduates to examine the Rokeach Values Survey correlates of the 5-factor model of personality, with a particular focus on the openness to experience dimension. Using both individual values items and value composites, replicable correlates were identified. Among the 36 values, openness had 9 replicable correlates, most notably the terminal value World of Beauty and the instrumental value Imaginative. Openness also was reliably related to the positive valuing of being Broadminded and the negative valuing of Social Recognition, Salvation, Clean, Obedient, Responsible, and Self-Controlled. Results suggest that, more than the other dimensions of personality, openness to experience best accounts for what people value in their lives. Results also imply that people value qualities that they already possess. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT We examined several determinants of interjudge agreement on personality traits. The findings, which were cross-validated in two samples, suggest that agreement is a function of four factors: which Big Five content domain the trait represents, how observable relevant behaviors are, how evaluative the trait is, and whether the self is one of the judges. Agreement was highest for traits related to Extraversion and lowest for traits related to Agreeableness. More observable and less evaluative traits elicited higher interjudge agreement. On average, self-peer agreement was lower than peer-peer agreement. However, this effect was limited to evaluative traits; for neutral traits, self-peer agreement was as high as peer-peer agreement. These findings suggest that self- and peer perception proceed through similar processes for neutral traits but not for highly evaluative traits, raising the possibility that self-perceptions become distorted when the trait is affectively charged.
In this article we review research relevant to Rokeach's (1973) suggestion that, by appealing to socially shared conceptions of what is good, people may use values to ego defensively rationalize or justify their attitudes. In line with this value justification hypothesis, research suggests that, although attitudes may originally stem from the relative importance that people ascribe to various values, once formed, attitudes may well produce self-serving biases that affect both the values that people deem relevant to an issue and the complexity or open-mindedness of their reasoning about an issue. In addition, just as people may appeal to values to justify their attitudes toward social issues such as nuclear weaponry or abortion, data suggest that people may exaggerate perceptions of intergroup value differences in an effort to rationalize prejudicial intergroup attitudes and justify discrimination. Aspects of the ego defensive use of values that merit elaboration and have yet to be addressed, as well as the more general implications of a functional approach to the study of values, are discussed.
The California Child Q-set (CCQ) was used to explore the structure of personality in early adolescence and to develop scales to measure the “Big Five” dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Mothers provided Q-sorts of 350 ethnically diverse boys between 12 and 13 years old. Analyses of the construct validity of the scales provided a nomological network relating the Big Five to theoretically and socially important criterion variables, such as juvenile delinquency, Externalizing and Internalizing disorders of childhood psychopathology, school performance, IQ, SES, and race. These effects were obtained using diverse methods, including self-reports from the boys, ratings by their mothers and their teachers, and objective-test data. In addition to the Big Five, analyses also suggested 2 possibly age-specific dimensions of personality in early adolescence. Discussion is focused on the changing manifestations of personality traits throughout development.
ABSTRACT Individual differences in personality may be described at three different levels. Level I consists of those broad, de contextualized, and relatively non conditional constructs called “traits,” which provide a dispositional signature for personality description. No description of a person is adequate without trait attributions, but trait attributions themselves yield little beyond a “psychology of the stranger.” At Level II (called “personal concerns”), personality descriptions invoke personal strivings, life tasks, defense mechanisms, coping strategies, domain-specific skills and values, and a wide assortment of other motivational, developmental, or strategic constructs that are contextualized in time, place, or role. While dispositional traits and personal concerns appear to have near-universal applicability. Level III presents frameworks and constructs that may be uniquely relevant to adulthood only, and perhaps only within modern societies that put a premium on the individuation of the self. Thus, in contemporary Western societies, a full description of personality commonly requires a consideration of the extent to which a human life expresses unity and purpose, which are the hallmarks of identity. Identity in adulthood is an inner story of the self that integrates the reconstructed past, perceived present, and anticipated future to provide a life with unity, purpose, and meaning. At Level III, psychologists may explore the person's identity as an internalized and evolving life story. Each of the three levels has its own geography and requires its own indigenous nomenclatures, taxonomies, theories, frameworks, and laws.
An experimental study examined the effect of the amount of available information on interjudge consensus and self–other agreement (accuracy) in personality judgment. Three hundred sixty perceiver-subjects (180 F and 180 M) each watched one of 6 targets (3 F and 3 M) on videotape for 5–10, 15–20, or 25–30 min. Accuracy was significantly greater in the longest than in the shortest observation condition. Within this overall difference, the linear effect of information on accuracy was strong (and significant) only for the most visible of the traits that were judged, including those relevant to extraversion. A fairly high level of consensus was achieved after the shortest period of observation and did not increase with longer observation for any kind of trait. Among a separate group of acquaintances who had known the targets for an average of 14 months, both accuracy and consensus was much higher than our perceiver-subjects achieved after 30 min. Further analyses showed that, with more information, consensus was more highly associated with accuracy, even though the level of consensus did not change.
This paper outlines a theory of global traits based on the seminal writings of Gordon Allport and 50 years of subsequent empirical research. Personality research needs to refocus on global traits because such traits are an important part of everyday social discourse, because they embody a good deal of folk wisdom and common sense, because understanding and evaluating trait judgments can provide an important route toward the improvement of social judgment, and because global traits offer legitimate, if necessarily incomplete, explanations of behavior. A substantial body of evidence supporting the existence of global traits includes personality correlates of behavior, interjudge agreement in personality ratings, and the longitudinal stability of personality over time. Future research should clarify the origins of global traits, the dynamic mechanisms though which they influence behavior, and the behavioral cues through which they can most accurately be judged.
The Big Five Model of personality and Schwartz's theory of basic values are two prominent taxonomies that offer a convenient way to organize the major individual differences in, respectively, personality traits and personal values. Both taxonomies provide a hierarchical framework, whose components can be traced back to a smaller number of broader dimensions. The current study investigated the relationship between the two superordinate factors of personality encompassing the Big Five dimensions (alpha and beta) and the four higher-level value types from Schwartz's theory (Self-transcendence, Self-enhancement, Conservation, and Openness to change). To examine the relations between higher-order traits and values, we relied on factor analysis and multidimensional scaling. Results indicated that alpha and beta were differently related to the Conservation versus Openness to change dimension. Alpha was positively related to values that emphasize protecting stability and respecting norms and traditions, and negatively related to values emphasizing receptiveness to change and independence of thought, feeling, and action. The opposite pattern of relations was found for beta.
Personality characteristics and behaviors related to judgmental accuracy following unstructured interactions among previously unacquainted triads were examined. Judgmental accuracy was related to social skill, agreeableness, and adjustment. Accuracy of observers of the interactions was positively related to the number of good judges in the interaction, which implies that the personality and behaviors of the judge are important for creating a situation in which targets will reveal relevant personality cues. Furthermore, the finding that observer accuracy was positively related to the number of good judge partners suggests that judgmental accuracy is based on more than detection and utilization skills of the judge.
Many questions in personality psychology lend themselves to the analysis of profile similarity. A profile approach to issues such as personality judgment, personality similarity, behavioral consistency, developmental stability, and person-environment fit is intuitively appealing. However, it entails conceptual and statistical challenges arising from the overlap among profile similarity and normativeness, which presents potential confounds and potential opportunities. This article describes the normativeness problem, articulating the need to evaluate profile similarity alongside normativeness and distinctiveness. It presents conceptual and psychometric foundations of a framework differentiating these elements for pairs of profiles. It derives two models from this framework, and it discusses the application of their components to a variety of research domains. Finally, it presents recommendations and implications regarding the use of these components and profile similarity more generally. This approach can reveal and manage potential confounds, and it can provide theoretical insights that might otherwise be overlooked.