Personality and Product PreferencesMAR 3503

March 27, 2012

What does a persons stuff tell you?The big questions

What possessions, preferences, etc., tell you what a person is like?Do they tell you anything at all?Why might they be useful?

People have beliefs about stuffAnd what it can reveal about a personPeople make judgments based on a persons musical tastes (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2009)People believe that messy people are lower in A & C but higher in O & N (Harris & Sachau, 2005)People draw inferences from a persons appearance and clothing (Bardack & McAndrew, 1985)People believe that dogs look like their owners (Roy & Christenfeld, 2004)And so on

People have beliefs about stuff

Do dogs look like their owners?Yes! To some extentParticipants were asked to try to pair up pictures of dogs and their owners taken at dog parksParticipants did better than chanceWhen they judged purebredsBut not when they judged muttsPeople can choose dogs that look like them

Other look-alikesAlpers et al, 2006

Look-alikesResearchers went to a rest stop, and took pictures of 60 drivers and their cars, separatelyParticipants attempted to match pictures of cars with pictures of owners68% of the cars were reliably paired with their owners

Implicit egotismPeople like to think positively themselves, and do so automaticallyThese feelings influence them to think positively about things simply associated the selfThis happens at a very basic levelThe name letter effect: People like the letters that are in their name more than the letters that are not (same goes for the numbers in their birthdays)And for more complicated things, too

Implicit egotismHalf Ps partners had a code # that was the Ps birthdayHow much do you look forward to getting to know the partner?How much do you think you would like this person?

Chart1

7.28.2

77.6

Control

Birthday match

Sheet1

ControlBirthday matchSeries 3

Study 5a7.28.22

Study 5b77.62

Category 33.51.83

Category 44.52.85

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Class data

Chart1

0

5th letter after initial

Series 1

Liking for letters

Sheet1

Series 1Series 2Series 3

Initial02.42

5th letter after initial4.42

Category 33.51.83

Category 44.52.85

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Implicit egotism and brandsPeople like products whose brand names start with their initialsStage 1: Implicit egotism (the underlying motive to self-enhance) endows the name letters with positive valenceStage 2: The positive valence gets endowed to the product attributes themselves

Apologizing for initials

Flavorology

Music preferencesWhat music do you like to listen to?

Lets find out!

Music preferences

Music preferences

Music stereotypesContemporary religiousCountryClassicalJazzRockFolkBluesHeavy metalElectronicSoundtracksAlternativePopRapSoulMost accurateLeast accurate

Room with a cuePeople can make quite accurate inferences about a persons personality by a brief examination of their personal spacesBedroomsBest at revealing openness, neuroticism and conscientiousnessOfficesBest at revealing openness, not useful for judging agreeableness

Cues that people use, whether or not they work

A Field Guide to Bedrooms

When judgingPeople actually rely onWhen they should rely onOpenness Decorated & cluttered, distinctive, quantity & variety of books, quantity of music, variety of magazines A space that is distinctive, with a variety of books, magazines, & music. Books on art & poetry, art suppliesConscientiousnessCheerful & colorfulGood condition, clean, organized, neat, uncluttered, well lit, clothing put away, comfortable. Organized books, music, & stationeryA space that is well lit, uncluttered, organized, neat, & comfortable. Organized books, magazines, & musicExtraversionDecorated and clutteredAgreeablenessCheerful & colorfulOrganized, neat, clean, clothing put away, good condition, comfortable, invitingNeuroticismStale airInspirational posters

A Field Guide to Office Spaces

When judgingPeople actually rely onWhen they should rely onOpenness Decorated, cheerful, colorful, inviting, cluttered, full, distinctive, stylish, unconventional, varied booksDistinctive, stylish, unconventional, varied booksConscientiousnessGood condition, clean, organized, neat, uncluttered, comfortable. Inviting, large, conventionalGood condition, clean, organized, neat, unclutteredExtraversionDecorated, cheerful, colorful, cluttered, full, inviting, distinctive, stylish, modern, unconventionalDecorated, cheerful, invitingAgreeablenessInvitingHigh-traffic locationNeuroticismUninvitingDecorated (in calming ways)

Online personalityThree questions about websites (or any item that might convey personality):1. Do personal websites convey a coherent message about the owner? (Consensus)2. Is the message conveyed by websites accurate? (Accuracy)3. Is the message conveyed by websites overly positive? (Impression management)Vazire & Gosling, 2004

Online personalityThe answers to the questions are1. Consensus: Yes! People do agree on the personality of the owner of a website2. Accuracy: Yes! People can be quite accurate at gauging personality from a websiteeven an individual person is often accurateOpenness is the easiest trait to distinguishNot due to sex or age stereotypes3. Impression management: Yes! People do emphasize more flattering aspects of their personalityExtraversion and agreeableness tend to be enhanced

Online personalityFFM = Big Five

Online personalityAre Facebook profiles accurate? Or do they reflect an idealized self?

Theyre accurate!Actual personality is a much better predictor of profile content than ideal personalityAccuracy is highest for extraversion and openness, lowest for neuroticismBack et al., 2010

Where you liveRentfrow et al., 2008

Where you liveRentfrow et al., 2008

Where you liveWhy? Where do these regional differences stem from?Rentfrow et al., 2008

Cat People and Dog People

Dog people46%Cat people12%Both28%Neither15%

Dog people15% more extraverted13% more agreeable11% more conscientiousCat people12% more neurotic11% more open

What causes what?The data by nature is correlationalDo personalities cause certain preferences?Do preferences lead to personalities?Is there a third factor?An intervening factor (a moderator)?

Can you spot a poseur?Three categories of personality clues:

Category 1: Easiest to manipulate. These are deliberate signals, where the signal is the goal of the clue. Ex. Bumper stickersCategory 2: In the middle. These are deliberate modifications of your environment, but signaling is not the purpose. Ex. Creating a comfortable living spaceCategory 3: Hardest to manipulate. These are inadvertent signals, byproducts of our behavior. Ex. Dirty dishes in the sink

Controllability of impressions

For more information

SummaryPeople have strong beliefs about what we can read about a person from the things they do and ownSome of these things are actually highly predictive of a persons true personalityThis arises for several reasonsHeritability, choice, etc.

Next time

What are some useful ways to segment a population?

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