The many faces of assumed similarity in perceptions of personality

We propose that most coefficients of assumed similarity in acquaintance ratings are based on actual similarity between observer and target rather than any bias to project self onto other. We assessed assumed similarity, actual similarity, and rater accuracy in 62 university roommate dyads who rated each other on 74 personality-related variables. Our findings indicate that our roommates (a) were actually alike on many variables, (b) knew this, rather than assumed it, and (c) applied this knowledge to enhance the accuracy of their ratings. We outline a model of judgment that urges three distinct concepts: true assumed similarity, known similarity, and spurious similarity. We conclude that personality ratings among acquaintances reflecting true assumed similarity are probably rare.     

A thin slice perspective on the accuracy of first impressions

The accuracy of first impressions was examined by investigating judged construct (negative affect, positive affect, the Big five personality variables, intelligence), exposure time (5, 20, 45, 60, and 300 s), and slice location (beginning, middle, end). Three hundred and thirty four judges rated 30 targets. Accuracy was defined as the correlation between a judge’s ratings and the target’s criterion scores on the same construct. Negative affect, extraversion, conscientiousness, and intelligence were judged moderately well after 5-s exposures; however, positive affect, neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness required more exposure time to achieve similar levels of accuracy. Overall, accuracy increased with exposure time, judgments based on later segments of the 5-min interactions were more accurate, and 60 s yielded the optimal ratio between accuracy and slice length. Results suggest that accuracy of first impressions depends on the type of judgment made, amount of exposure, and temporal location of the slice of judged social behavior.     

Forming first impressions: The role of gender and normative accuracy in personality perception

Gender is associated with interpersonal sensitivity across different domains, with females, on average, demonstrating higher levels of interpersonal sensitivity than males. What underlies these gender differences in the accuracy of first impressions of personality remains unclear. Across two large video studies and a large round-robin design, perceivers’ gender was related to the accuracy of general personality trait impressions. Specifically, female perceivers achieved higher levels of accuracy, but only with respect to normative accuracy or perceiving what others are like in general. There were no significant gender differences in terms of distinctive accuracy or perceiving how others are different from the average person. Discussion considers how these findings relate to previously established gender differences in other domains of interpersonal sensitivity.     

Shoes as a source of first impressions

Surprisingly minimal appearance cues lead perceivers to accurately judge others’ personality, status, or politics. We investigated people’s precision in judging characteristics of an unknown person, based solely on the shoes he or she wears most often. Participants provided photographs of their shoes, and during a separate session completed self-report measures. Coders rated the shoes on various dimensions, and these ratings were found to correlate with the owners’ personal characteristics. A new group of participants accurately judged the age, gender, income, and attachment anxiety of shoe owners based solely on the pictures. Shoes can indeed be used to evaluate others, at least in some domains.     

The effects of culture and gender on perceived self-other similarity in personality

Gender and culture may influence individuals’ perceptions of their similarity to others. 391,454 individuals from 20 countries rated their own personality traits and the personality traits they attribute to other people in general. A multilevel analysis on distinctive profile similarity (Furr, 2008) demonstrated that both gender and culture play a role in perceived self-other similarity. Specifically, women and those from highly collectivistic cultures saw themselves as more similar to others. Country-level analysis based on self-other similarity correlations (e.g., Srivastava, Guglielmo, & Beer, 2010) within each country revealed that cultural assertiveness uniquely predicted this assumed similarity. The findings shed light on how people construe themselves in relation to others and contribute to the understanding of personality within cultural contexts.     

Through the looking glass clearly: accuracy and assumed similarity in well-adjusted individuals' first impressions

Do well-adjusted individuals have particularly accurate insight into what others are like or are they biased, primarily seeing their own characteristics in others? In the current studies, the authors examined how psychologically adjusted individuals tend to see new acquaintances, directly comparing their levels of distinctive accuracy (accurately perceiving others' unique characteristics), normative accuracy (perceiving others as similar to the average person), and assumed similarity (perceiving others as similar to the self). Across two interactive, round-robin studies, well-adjusted individuals, compared with less adjusted individuals, did not perceive new acquaintances' unique characteristics more accurately but did perceive new acquaintances, on average, as similar to the average person, reflecting an accurate understanding of what people generally tend to be like. Furthermore, well-adjusted individuals had a biased tendency to perceive their own unique characteristics in others. Of note, both pre-existing perceiver adjustment and target-specific liking independently predicted greater accuracy and assumed similarity in first impressions. In sum, well-adjusted individuals see through the looking glass clearly: although they erroneously see others as possessing their own unique characteristics, they accurately understand what others generally tend to be like.     

First impressions and professor reputation: influence on student evaluations of instruction

We examined the effects of professor reputation versus first impressions on student evaluations of instruction. Students in 19 Psychology courses completed course evaluation surveys either before meeting the instructor or 2 weeks into the semester. Both groups then completed the course evaluation again at the end of the semester. Unlike evaluations completed prior to meeting the professor, students’ ratings 2 weeks into the semester did not differ from end-of-semester evaluations. Therefore, students considered first impressions more important than professor reputation as determinants of their end-of-the semester evaluations. Results suggest that students form lasting impressions within the first 2 weeks of classes.

On being liked on the web and in the “real world”: Consistency in first impressions across personal webpages and spontaneous behavior

With recent growth in the use of personal webpages and online social networking, people are changing the way that they meet and form impressions of each other. The current research examines the correspondence in impressions formed from face-to-face interaction and personal webpages. As expected, people liked by interaction partners were also liked on the basis of their Facebook^® pages. Across the two social mediums, social perceivers utilized analogous criteria in forming impressions: interaction partners and webpage viewers liked people who were socially expressive in face-to-face interaction and personal webpages, respectively. Finally, webpage expressivity and webpage self-disclosure were independent constructs, predictive of face-to-face counterparts: nonverbal expressivity and verbal self-disclosure. Implications for the changing landscape of social perception are discussed.     

Information quality in personality judgment: The value of personal disclosure

We examined the relative quality of different types of information and its effects on accuracy in personality judgment. Three hundred and forty-four unacquainted undergraduates participated in a small group round-robin rating scheme. In one condition, participants were asked to disclose three things that were very important to them in life. In a second condition, participants were asked to disclose three distinctive personal facts: things that differentiated them from others. We found that (a) people believed values information was more personality-relevant than facts information and (b) although there was no clear advantage for one condition over the other in terms of generalized accuracy, there were some differences across conditions for specific traits. Implications for the study of information quality in personality judgment are discussed.     

Professed impressions: What people say about others affects onlookers’ perceptions of speakers’ power and warmth

During a conversation, it is common for a speaker to describe a third-party that the listener does not know. These professed impressions not only shape the listener’s view of the third-party but also affect judgments of the speaker herself. We propose a previously unstudied consequence of professed impressions: judgments of the speaker’s power. In two studies, we find that listeners ascribe more power to speakers who profess impressions focusing on a third-party’s conscientiousness, compared to those focusing on agreeableness. We also replicate previous research showing that speakers saying positive things about third parties are seen as more agreeable than speakers saying negative things. In the second study, we demonstrate that conscientiousness-power effects are mediated by inferences about speakers’ task concerns and positivity-agreeableness effects are mediated by inferences about speakers’ other-enhancing concerns. Finally, we show that judgments of speaker status parallel judgments of agreeableness rather than of power, suggesting that perceivers use different processes to make inferences about status and power. These findings have implications for the literatures on person perception, power, and status.     

The good judge of personality: Characteristics, behaviors, and observer accuracy

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.     

Self-other agreement in personality and affectivity: the role of acquaintanceship, trait visibility, and assumed similarity

Self- and other-ratings on the Big Five and a comprehensive inventory of trait affect were obtained from 74 married couples, 136 dating couples, and 279 friendship dyads. With the exception of Surprise, all scales showed significant self-other agreement in all 3 samples, thereby establishing their convergent validity. Consistent with the trait visibility effect, however, the Big Five consistently yielded higher agreement correlations than did the affectivity scales. Conversely, the affective traits consistently showed stronger evidence of assumed similarity (i.e., the tendency for judges to rate others as similar to themselves) than did the Big Five. Cross-sample comparisons indicated that agreement was significantly higher in the married sample than in the other 2 groups; however, analyses of 3 potential moderators in the dating and friendship samples failed to identify the source of this acquaintanceship effect.     

Accuracy in assessment of self-reported stress and a measure of health from static facial information

The human face is important for social communication and in attractiveness judgements. Previous studies indicate that several facial traits may be related to mental and physical health and there is some evidence that individuals are able to judge past health on the basis of facial appearance. The current study builds on this prior work, examining the relationship between static facial appearance and self-reported stress and health. Specifically, we examined (1) within and between individual stress (Study 1) by photographing the same participants at two times, once in a relatively stress free and once in a stressful time, and (2) between individual health (Studies 2A and 2B) by examining self-reported past number of colds as a measure of immune function. All studies demonstrated that individuals could judge the stress and physical health of others from static facial appearance alone at rates greater than chance. Such accuracy may reflect selection pressures to identify stress free and healthy social partners.     

Agreement and similarity in self-other perceptions of moral character

We surveyed well-acquainted dyads about two key moral character traits (Honesty–Humility, Guilt Proneness), as well as several other individual differences. We examined self-other agreement, similarity, assumed similarity, and similarity-free agreement (i.e., self-other agreement controlling for similarity and assumed similarity). Participants projected their own level of moral character onto their peers (i.e., moderately high assumed similarity), but were nonetheless able to judge moral character with reasonable accuracy (moderately high self-other agreement and similarity-free agreement), suggesting that moral character traits can be detected by well-acquainted others. Regardless of reporting method, Honesty–Humility and Guilt Proneness were correlated with delinquency, unethical decision making, and counterproductive work behavior, suggesting that unethical behavior is committed disproportionately by people with low levels of these character traits.     

Unrelated look-alikes: Replicated study of personality similarity and qualitative findings on social relatedness

Twin research critics assert that similar treatment of monozygotic (MZ) twins results from their matched physical appearance, and that their similar treatment explains their within-pair behavioral similarities. A genetic explanation of MZ twins’ resemblance is, thereby, dismissed. To address this challenge, Segal (2013) found a lack of similarity in personality and self-esteem in pairs of unrelated look-alike individuals. The present study describes a constructive replication of that work, confirming these findings. It also presents an analysis of social relatedness within U-LA pairs. Most participants expressed moderate to little social closeness and familiarity, upon meeting and subsequently, over an average 8.98 year period (SD = 7.82). A qualitative analysis of U-LAs’ responses to unstructured social relationship questions further explored their perceptions of, and responses to, their physical resemblance. Participants were generally divided as to perceptions of “some” physical resemblance and “no” physical resemblance upon meeting; two-thirds indicated “some” resemblance at the time of the study. Reactions to their physical resemblance were distributed among positive reactions, negative reactions and within-pair contrasts. Theories addressing the bases of social relatedness provide context for these findings.     

The quality of teacher-student interactions: associations with first graders' academic and behavioral outcomes

The associations between the quality of teacher-student interactions and first grade academic and adaptive behavior outcomes were examined in a study of 106 Portuguese students in 64 first grade classrooms. Students' vocabulary, print concepts, math, and adaptive skills were assessed both at the end of preschool and in first grade. Classrooms were observed in the spring of first grade. After taking into account family risk factors and preschool skills, the quality of teacher-student interactions, particularly in terms of classroom organization, was positively associated with students' first grade vocabulary and print concepts. In addition, classroom quality predicted number identification outcomes differently depending on student skills prior to school entry. Students with lower preschool math skills seemed to benefit from higher quality teacher-student interactions. These findings provide further support for the unique contribution of the quality of teacher-student interactions in first grade and suggest that it may be an important mechanism to improve academic skills.     

High in the hierarchy: How vertical location and judgments of leaders’ power are interrelated

Leadership implies power. We argue, from a social embodiment perspective, that thinking about power involves mental simulation of vertical location. Three studies tested whether judgments of leaders’ power and information on a vertical location are interrelated. In Studies 1a–1c, participants judged a leader’s power after being presented with, among other information, an organization chart containing either a long or a short vertical line. A longer vertical line increased judged power. Study 2 showed that this effect persists when longer (vs. shorter) vertical lines are presented in an independent priming task and not in an organization chart, and that horizontal lines do not have the same effect. Finally, Studies 3a and 3b showed the reverse causal effect: information about a leader’s power influenced participants’ vertical positioning of a leader’s box in an organization chart and of a leader picture into a team picture. Implications for leadership communication are discussed.     

Holistic versus analytic processing: Evidence for a different approach to processing of Chinese at the word and character levels in Chinese children

Among 30 Hong Kong Chinese fourth graders, sensitivities to character and word constructions were examined in judgment tasks at each level. There were three conditions across both tasks: the real condition, consisting of either actual two-character compound Chinese words or real Chinese compound characters; the reversed condition, with either the order of the two morphemes in the word or the order of the semantic and phonetic radicals in the character reversed; and the random condition, with either two morphemes randomly combined to create arbitrary nonwords or a semantic radical and a phonetic radical randomly combined using correct orthographic rules to create noncharacters. On the word level, children performed worst in the reversed condition and best with real words, whereas on the character level, children performed worst in the random condition and best in the reversed condition. Findings imply a holistic tendency toward word-level processing and an analytic approach to character-level processing in these Chinese children.     

Accuracy of judging others’ traits and states: Comparing mean levels across tests

Tests of accuracy in interpersonal perception take many forms. Often, such tests use designs and scoring methods that produce overall accuracy levels that cannot be directly compared across tests. Therefore, progress in understanding accuracy levels has been hampered. The present article employed several techniques for achieving score equivalency. Mean accuracy was converted to a common metric, pi [Rosenthal, R., & Rubin, D. B. (1989). Effect size estimation for one-sample multiple-choice-type data: Design, analysis, and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 332–337] in a database of 109 published results representing tests that varied in terms of scoring method (proportion accuracy versus correlation), content (e.g., personality versus affect), number of response options, item preselection, cue channel (e.g., face versus voice), stimulus duration, and dynamism. Overall, accuracy was midway between guessing level and a perfect score, with accuracy being higher for tests based on preselected than unselected stimuli. When item preselection was held constant, accuracy was equivalent for judging affect and judging personality. However, comparisons must be made with caution due to methodological variations between studies and gaps in the literature.     

A closer look at first sight: Social relations lens model analysis of personality and interpersonal attraction at zero acquaintance

Based on a new theoretical framework—the Social Relations Lens Model—this study examined the influence of personality on real‐life attraction at zero acquaintance. A group of psychology freshmen (N = 73) was investigated upon encountering one another for the first time. Personality traits, attraction ratings and metaperceptions were assessed using a large round‐robin design (2628 dyads). In line with our model, personality differentially predicted who was a liker and who expected to be liked (perceiver effects), who was popular and who was seen as a liker (target effects), as well as who liked whom and who expected to be liked by whom (relationship effects). Moreover, the influence of personality on attraction was mediated by observable physical, nonverbal and audible cues. Results allowed a closer look at first sight and underline the importance of combining componential and process approaches in understanding the interplay of personality and social phenomena. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.