Do TV programs attract people with peculiar personality traits?

Talent shows (TS) are a form of widely popular entertainment, actually playing a programs has spawned an intensive level of curiosity and speculation about the personality of its main characters. The Big Five Inventory was administered to 145 main participants of TS (n=72 dancers, n=73 singers, Mage=22.8) and scores were compared against test norms and a college student group. Profile analysis revealed that participants of TS share a common profile of high neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, while only a significant difference in agreeableness was found between dancers and singers. Differences in motivation for participating to the show did not emerge. The results demonstrate the uniqueness of TS protagonists in comparison to the Italian general population, as well as to a college students group. It is concluded that TS attract people in possession of particular personality trait