TY - JOUR
T1 - Don't Judge a (Face)Book by its Cover: Exploring judgement accuracy of others' personality on Facebook
AU - Darbyshire, Demetria
AU - Kirk, Charlotte
AU - Wall, Helen
AU - Kaye, Linda
PY - 2016/1/25
Y1 - 2016/1/25
N2 - With interaction across social networking sites (SNSs) becoming more prominent, the ability to accurately
judge another's personality through these digital platforms is an important area of investigation. A
number of studies demonstrate that SNSs can be an effective means of communicating information on
personality (Evans, Gosling & Carroll, 2008). Much less research has examined the online cues that
people use when forming their impressions of another's personality. The current research adopted a
mixed methods approach to examine 1) accuracy of first impressions formed on the basis of viewing a
person's Facebook behaviour and 2) how judgements are formed. Findings suggested that the traits of
openness and conscientiousness can be judged most accurately through observing Facebook behaviour.
To explore the cues used in forming personality judgements, thematic analysis was undertaken. This
revealed six information ‘cues’ including; (1) vocabulary of target, (2) photographs, (3) written online
interactions, (4) relationships with others, (5) health status and, (6) occupational status. Findings are
discussed in terms of Funder's Realistic Accuracy Model (1995, 1999) along with limitations and suggestions
for future research.
AB - With interaction across social networking sites (SNSs) becoming more prominent, the ability to accurately
judge another's personality through these digital platforms is an important area of investigation. A
number of studies demonstrate that SNSs can be an effective means of communicating information on
personality (Evans, Gosling & Carroll, 2008). Much less research has examined the online cues that
people use when forming their impressions of another's personality. The current research adopted a
mixed methods approach to examine 1) accuracy of first impressions formed on the basis of viewing a
person's Facebook behaviour and 2) how judgements are formed. Findings suggested that the traits of
openness and conscientiousness can be judged most accurately through observing Facebook behaviour.
To explore the cues used in forming personality judgements, thematic analysis was undertaken. This
revealed six information ‘cues’ including; (1) vocabulary of target, (2) photographs, (3) written online
interactions, (4) relationships with others, (5) health status and, (6) occupational status. Findings are
discussed in terms of Funder's Realistic Accuracy Model (1995, 1999) along with limitations and suggestions
for future research.
U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.021
DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.021
M3 - Article (journal)
SN - 0747-5632
VL - 58
SP - 380
EP - 387
JO - Computers in Human Behavior
JF - Computers in Human Behavior
ER -