Personality perception accuracy development within newly acquainted groups

Graduation date: 2011The present research sought to investigate the effect of acquaintance on the accuracy of personality judgments and extend results to groups resembling families. Participants were college students ranging from 18 to 54 years of age enrolled in a ten week long "Psychological Assessment" research practicum. The study was designed to assess the ability of individuals to accurately judge the distribution of group members on each of the big five traits of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness at three different time periods. During the first week participants made a first impression personality trait rating and then engaged in a getting-acquainted conversation with each target and made an additional rating. They then spent nine weeks interacting with targets in activities designed to represent interpersonal contexts that would traditionally occur in a family setting and made final\ud personality ratings at the end of the ten week period. At zero acquaintance participants were able to accurately rank the targets on the traits of extraversion, openness, and neuroticism. After ten weeks of acquaintance-inducing activities participants were able to accurately assess the distribution of group members on each of the big five traits. There was a significant linear trend for increasing accuracy with further acquaintance for all traits with the exception of neuroticism. Implications for relationship development in families are discussed