What do you learn about someone over time? The relationship between length of acquaintance and consensus and self-other agreement in judgments of personality

Theory and research examining length of acquaintance and consensus among personality judgments have predominantly examined each dimension of personality separately. In L. J. Cronbach's (1955) terminology, this trait-centered approach combines consensus on elevation, differential elevation, and differential accuracy in personality judgments. The current article extends D. A. Kenny's (1991, 1994) weighted average model (WAM)--a theoretical model of the factors that influence agreement among personality judgments--to separate out two of Cronbach's components of consensus: stereotype accuracy and differential accuracy. Consistent with the predictions based on the WAM, as length of acquaintance increased, self-other agreement and consensus differential accuracy increased, stereotype accuracy decreased, and trait-level or raw profile correlations generally remained unchanged. Discussion focuses on the conditions under which a relationship between length of acquaintance and consensus and self-other agreement among personality evaluations emerges and how impressions change over time.     

Informant reports: A cheap,fast, and easy method for personality assessment

Despite widespread agreement that multi-method assessments are optimal in personality research, the literature is dominated by a single method: self-reports. This pattern seems to be based, at least in part, on widely held preconceptions about the costs of non-self-report methods, such as informant methods. Researchers seem to believe that informant methods are: (a) time-consuming, (b) expensive, (c) ineffective (i.e., informants will not cooperate), and (d) particularly vulnerable to faking or invalid responses. This article evaluates the validity of these preconceptions in light of recent advances in Internet technology, and proposes some strategies for making informant methods more effective. Drawing on data from three separate studies, I demonstrate that, using these strategies, informant reports can be collected with minimal effort and few monetary costs. In addition, informants are generally very willing to cooperate (e.g., response rates of 76–95%) and provide valid data (in terms of strong consensus and self-other agreement). Informant reports represent a mostly untapped resource that researchers can use to improve the validity of personality assessments and to address new questions that cannot be examined with self-reports alone.     

Personality assessment and behavioral prediction at first impression

Research has demonstrated high levels of consensus and self-other agreement for extraversion and conscientiousness. However, the mechanisms whereby these assessments contribute to accuracy in behavioral predictions remain unclear. In this study, two judges rated targets on Big Five personality factors, and predicted their compliance to offer help in response to a fabricated emergency. Whereas one judge interacted directly with the target, the other judge only observed the interaction. There was consensus and self-other agreement on conscientiousness for both judges. Critically, self-reported conscientiousness fully mediated the effect of judged conscientiousness on compliance to offer help, regardless of the nature of the judge-target interaction. These results demonstrate a mechanism whereby judged personality can predict a specific behavioral outcome in initially unacquainted persons.     

Effects of self‐enhancement on agreement on personality profiles

Effects of self‐enhancement and socially desirable responding (SDR) on rater agreement for personality profiles were studied in 304 students. Dyads of participants described themselves and their peer on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R) that measures 30 facets of personality. In addition, participants filled in six scales measuring self‐enhancement or SDR. Data analyses focussed on moderator and suppressor effects of SDR on the similarity between self‐reported and other reported NEO‐PI‐R profiles. Three kinds of profile agreement were distinguished: (a) normative agreement; (b) distinctive agreement and (c) profile normativeness, that is, how strongly a self‐reported personality profile resembled the average profile of all participants. There were no moderator or suppressor effects on distinctive agreement, but SDR predicted profile normativeness quite strongly. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship quality,trait similarity,and self-other agreement on personality ratings in college roommates

Previous research has shown that the level of self-other agreement for personality trait ratings increases with the length of acquaintanceship between the target and the informant. These findings emerge exclusively from studies of well-acquainted pairs in natural relationships and relative strangers interacting in laboratory and classroom settings. The present study examines self-other correlations for trait ratings using the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992) with 103 pairs of previously unacquainted female college roommates. Assessments were obtained at approximately 2 weeks and again at approximately 15 weeks subsequent to the roommates' initial introduction. Self-other correlations increased for all five NEO-FFI scores and agreement correlations for Conscientiousness were significantly higher than for Extraversion at both occasions. Differences in relationship quality did not moderate self-other agreement for any of the traits. However, better relationship quality was associated with higher other-ratings of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and lower other-ratings of Neuroticism after controlling for self-ratings on the same trait. Higher similarity in self-ratings of Neuroticism and Openness was associated with higher self-other agreement for these ratings, and similarity in Conscientiousness was associated with higher relationship quality. These results are considered in light of existing theories of differential trait observability and the effects of unique contexts on trait perception.     

人格判断的准确性:特质特性的作用

特质特性是影响人格判断准确性的重要调节变量。已有的研究表明,可观察性高的特质容易判断,判断的准确性和一致性也更高;特质的可评估性干扰了自我知觉的准确性,与中性特质相比,可评估性特质的自我—他人一致性更低;与清晰特质相比,模糊特质的自我—同伴判断间的一致性更低,且随特质模糊性的增加而递减。不仅如此,特质特性经常与其他因素如熟悉度交互作用于人格判断的准确性,在考查特质特性的作用时,必须提高研究的生态效度,将该变量与特性匹配、特质分类、个体差异及文化差异等因素综合起来考虑。     

A Cross-Cultural Study of Response Biases in Personality Measures

The purposes of this study were to (a) compare the response bias tendencies of U.S. and Philippine college students and men and women in each culture when responding to personality measures, (b) examine the comparability of different measures of the same response biases, (c) examine the stability or consistency of response biases across instruments, (d) examine the extent to which controlling for response biases affects cultural mean comparisons in personality variables, and (e) test hypothesized personality correlates of response biases. The results did not support the presence of large cross-cultural or gender differences in response biases. Moderate to high agreement was found between different indexes of the same biases. Participants' response bias tendencies were moderately stable across instruments. Controlling for response biases led to trivial changes in effect sizes; in most cases, conclusions about cultural differences in personality constructs did not change. Most hypotheses relating personality variables to response biases were not supported.     

Personality judgment and personality pathology: self-other agreement in adolescents with conduct disorder

We examine two issues linking personality pathology and judgment of traits within the Five-Factor Model of personality. We hypothesize that pathology moderates self-other agreement--"target" participants with pathology should be less judgable than participants without pathology. In addition, we hypothesize that pathology could partially produce agreement across a variety of traits, particularly those traits fundamental to the pathology. In an adolescent sample including a group with Conduct Disorder (CD) and a Control group, we examine agreement between adolescents' self-reports and their mothers' informant reports. Using trait-centered and person-centered perspectives, we find support for both hypotheses. Results have implications for understanding the processes affecting personality judgment, for increasing integration of traditional personality research and personality pathology, and for personality assessment.     

Information quantity and quality affect the realistic accuracy of personality judgment

Triads of unacquainted college students interacted in 1 of 5 experimental conditions that manipulated information quantity (amount of information) and information quality (relevance of information to personality), and they then made judgments of each others' personalities. To determine accuracy, the authors compared the ratings of each judge to a broad-based accuracy criterion composed of personality ratings from 3 types of knowledgeable informants (the self, real-life acquaintances, and clinician-interviewers). Results supported the hypothesis that information quantity and quality would be positively related to objective knowledge about the targets and realistic accuracy. Interjudge consensus and self-other agreement followed a similar pattern. These findings are consistent with expectations based on models of the process of accurate judgment (D. C. Funder, 1995, 1999) and consensus (D. A. Kenny, 1994).     

Reduced Sense of Coherence Due to Neuroticism: Are Transcendent Beliefs Protective Among Catholic Pastoral Workers?

In this study, we examined a third variable effect on the relationship of personality traits, especially neuroticism and the salutogenetic concept sense of coherence. Specifically, we were interested in the moderating role of religious trust (RT) and transcendence perception operationalized as daily spiritual experiences (DSE) on the aforementioned relationship among religious individuals. We applied a cross-sectional study among a sample of 8594 pastoral workers using standardized questionnaires. Multiple regression and moderator analysis displayed the relationships between big five personality variables and sense of coherence. Neuroticism was identified as a negative predictor to sense of coherence, indicating impairment on this psychological resource. RT and DSE appear to function as moderators that buffer the negative effects of neuroticism on sense of coherence among religious persons. This is an interesting finding because people with expressions of neurotic personality tendencies often struggle to find helpful methods of coping and may find a helpful resource in the concepts studied here.     

Reliability of personality disorder symptoms and personality traits in substance-dependent inpatients

The authors compared the internal consistency, 1-year temporal stability, and self-informant agreement of ratings of personality trait (NEO Five-Factor Inventory; NEO-FFI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and personality disorder symptom severity (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders Questionnaire; SCID-II-Q; R. L. Spitzer, J. B. W. Williams, M. Gibbon, & M. First, 1990) in 131 substance-dependent inpatients. Internal consistency coefficients were acceptable to very good for most NEO-FFI and SCID-II-Q scales, and temporal stability correlations were significant for all measures. Agreement between patient and informant ratings was more modest. Substance abuse and depression symptom severity moderated the temporal stability and self-informant agreement of several personality trait and disorder ratings. The authors did not find that the five factors were more reliable than the Axis II symptoms. Issues related to the reliability of personality assessment in multiply diagnosed patients are discussed.     

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.     

UNDERSTANDING SELF-OTHER AGREEMENT: A LOOK AT RATER AND RATEE CHARACTERISTICS, CONTEXT, AND OUTCOMES

This study investigated (a) the relative importance of a number of biographic (e.g., age, race, gender) and contextual (e.g., span of control, functional area) variables and their interactions on self-other agreement and (b) the relationship between self-other agreement and outcome variables such as performance and compensation. Usable data were collected from 3,217 managers and their multi-source raters in 527 organizations. Multivariate regression procedures (as opposed to categorization procedures) were used to determine the sources of rating disagreement. Results indicated that a significant portion of variance in self-other ratings was accounted for by the set of background/context variables. Self-other agreement was also related to performance, compensation, and organizational level, though rating patterns differed.     

A multi-informant study of the influence of targets’ and perceivers’ social desirability on self-other agreement in ratings of the HEXACO personality dimensions

In the current research we evaluated the impact of socially desirable responding on the strength of self-other agreement in personality judgments. We used a multi-informant design with self- and other-reports of HEXACO personality dimensions as well as self-reported and other-reported social desirability. Analyses were based on 305 primary participants and 709 informants. As shown by the results, neither self-other agreement nor other-other agreement regarding the personality dimensions was affected by social desirability. Furthermore, significant correlations between self-rated and other-rated social desirability emerged. The results are discussed as further evidence that most social desirability scales seem to measure substantive personality traits instead of response styles.     

An other perspective on personality: meta-analytic integration of observers' accuracy and predictive validity

The bulk of personality research has been built from self-report measures of personality. However, collecting personality ratings from other-raters, such as family, friends, and even strangers, is a dramatically underutilized method that allows better explanation and prediction of personality's role in many domains of psychology. Drawing hypotheses from D. C. Funder's (1995) realistic accuracy model about trait and information moderators of accuracy, we offer 3 meta-analyses to help researchers and applied psychologists understand and interpret both consistencies and unique insights afforded by other-ratings of personality. These meta-analyses integrate findings based on 44,178 target individuals rated across 263 independent samples. Each meta-analysis assessed the accuracy of observer ratings, as indexed by interrater consensus/reliability (Study 1), self-other correlations (Study 2), and predictions of behavior (Study 3). The results show that although increased frequency of interacting with targets does improve accuracy in rating personality, informants' interpersonal intimacy with the target is necessary for substantial increases in other-rating accuracy. Interpersonal intimacy improved accuracy especially for traits low in visibility (e.g., Emotional Stability) but only minimally for traits high in evaluativeness (e.g., Agreeableness). In addition, observer ratings were strong predictors of behaviors. When the criterion was academic achievement or job performance, other-ratings yielded predictive validities substantially greater than and incremental to self-ratings. These findings indicate that extraordinary value can gained by using other-reports to measure personality, and these findings provide guidelines toward enriching personality theory. Various subfields of psychology in which personality variables are systematically assessed and utilized in research and practice can benefit tremendously from use of others' ratings to measure personality variables.     

Psychometric Properties of the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA) in Friendship Dyads

Recently, Gros, Antony, Simms, and McCabe (2007) demonstrated support for the psychometric properties of a new measure of state and trait anxiety, the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA). In the present study, we further investigated the STICSA-Trait Version in 127 friendship dyads with a self-report from one participant (target) and an other-report of the target from a friend (informant). Consistent with previous research, confirmatory factor analyses supported the 2-factor structure of the STICSA-Trait in the target and informant reports. Moreover, the STICSA-Trait Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety subscales showed acceptable convergent and discriminant validity with related measures of anxiety. In addition, the STICSA-Trait subscales demonstrated adequate internal consistency and self-other agreement across the target and informant reports. Together, these findings provide additional support for the STICSA-Trait subscales as reliable and valid measures of cognitive and somatic anxiety.     

The comprehensive approach to analyzing multivariate constructs

Many psychological constructs of interest to personality psychologists, such as personality, behavior, and emotions, are made up of many variables. Moreover, similarity metrics, such as self-other agreement, profile similarity, or behavioral consistency, result from calculations conducted across many variables. When analyzed using a comprehensive approach, such multivariate constructs present unique analytic challenges. Such challenges are not well addressed in standard graduate statistics textbooks or presently available in standard commercial software. This article introduces the ‘multicon’ package, freely available in the R statistical package, designed to aid researchers interested in taking a comprehensive approach to analyzing multivariate constructs. Realistic examples from personality psychology are provided to demonstrate the utility of this package.