Less is more when rating Extraversion: Behavioral cues and interpersonal perceptions on the platform of Facebook

We explore how specific behaviors on Facebook inform interpersonal perceptions. We conducted two studies which explored the impact of linguistic (Study 1) and emotional cues (Study 2) on interpersonal perceptions of a fictitious target. In both studies, a between-participants design was used, whereby participants were randomly allocated to one of three cue conditions, and were presented with a Facebook profile which varied in the respective cue usage, and asked to provide personality perceptions. Study 1 conditions varied in linguistic cues (accurate spelling, one error, multiple errors) and Study 2 in emotional cues (no emoji, one happy emoji, multiple happy emoji). Study 1 found linguistic accuracy was related to perceptions of target extraversion. Specifically the target was rated more extraverted in the control condition with no errors relative to a single error condition. Study 2 results suggested that emoji cues did not have any significant impact upon trait perceptions. Taken together, the findings suggest that “less is more” when making judgements specifically for extraversion