1. Personality and Product Preferences MAR 3503 March 27, 2012

2. What does a person’s 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?

3. People have beliefs about stuff …And what it can reveal about a person – People make judgments based on a person’s 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 person’s appearance and clothing (Bardack & McAndrew, 1985) – People believe that dogs look like their owners (Roy & Christenfeld, 2004) – And so on…

4. People have beliefs about stuff

5. Do dogs look like their owners? Yes! To some extent… Participants were asked to try to pair up pictures of dogs and their owners taken at dog parks Participants did better than chance… – When they judged purebreds – But not when they judged “mutts” People can choose dogs that look like them

6. Other look-alikes Alpers et al, 2006

7. Look-alikes Researchers went to a rest stop, and took pictures of 60 drivers and their cars, separately Participants attempted to match pictures of cars with pictures of owners 68% of the cars were reliably paired with their owners

8. Implicit egotism People like to think positively themselves, and do so automatically These feelings influence them to think positively about things simply associated the self This happens at a very basic level… – The 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

9. Implicit egotism Half P’s “partners” had a code # that was the P’s birthday How much do you look forward to getting to know the partner? How much do you think you would like this person?

10. Class data

11. Implicit egotism and brands People like products whose brand names start with their initials – Stage 1: Implicit egotism (the underlying motive to self-enhance) endows the name letters with positive valence – Stage 2: The positive valence gets endowed to the product attributes themselves

12. Apologizing for initials

13. Flavorology Ambitious, impulsive, and colorful, with a busy schedule Vanilla Charming, engaging, creative, and attention-seeking Chocolate Orderly, fiscally conservative, and ethical with a strong competitive drive Butter Pecan Laid-back and generous Banana Shy, detail-oriented, and self-critical Strawberry Successful, generous, and competitive Chocolate Chip Interesting, charming, and professionally goal-driven Rocky Road Pessimistic with an argumentative streak Mint Chocolate Chip Lively and flirtatious, but often stretched too thin Coffee

14. Music preferences What music do you like to listen to? Let’s find out!

15. Music preferences Reflective & Complex Bluegrass Blues Classical Folk International/Fore ign Jazz New Age Opera Intense & Rebellious Alternative Heavy Metal Punk Rock Upbeat & Conventional Country Gospel Oldies Pop Religious Soundtracks/Theme songs Energetic & Rhythmic Dance/Electronica Funk Rap/Hip-hop Reggae Soul/R&B

16. Music preferences Reflective & Complex Higher in Openness Intense & Rebellious Higher in Openness Upbeat & Conventional Higher in Extraversion, Agreebleness, and Conscientiousness Lower on Openness Energetic & Rhythmic Higher on Extraversion Higher on Agreeableness

17. Music stereotypes Contemporary religious Country Classical Jazz Rock Folk Blues Heavy metal Electronic Soundtracks Alternative Pop Rap Soul Most accurate Least accurate

18. Room with a cue People can make quite accurate inferences about a person’s personality by a brief examination of their personal spaces – Bedrooms Best at revealing openness, neuroticism and conscientiousness – Offices Best at revealing openness, not useful for judging agreeableness

19. Cues that actually work Cues that people use, whether or not they work

20. When judging…People actually rely on…When they should rely on… OpennessDecorated & 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 supplies ConscientiousnessCheerful & colorful Good condition, clean, organized, neat, uncluttered, well lit, clothing put away, comfortable. Organized books, music, & stationery A space that is well lit, uncluttered, organized, neat, & comfortable. Organized books, magazines, & music ExtraversionDecorated and cluttered AgreeablenessCheerful & colorful Organized, neat, clean, clothing put away, good condition, comfortable, inviting NeuroticismStale airInspirational posters A Field Guide to Bedrooms

21. When judging…People actually rely on…When they should rely on… OpennessDecorated, cheerful, colorful, inviting, cluttered, full, distinctive, stylish, unconventional, varied books Distinctive, stylish, unconventional, varied books ConscientiousnessGood condition, clean, organized, neat, uncluttered, comfortable. Inviting, large, conventional Good condition, clean, organized, neat, uncluttered ExtraversionDecorated, cheerful, colorful, cluttered, full, inviting, distinctive, stylish, modern, unconventional Decorated, cheerful, inviting AgreeablenessInvitingHigh-traffic location NeuroticismUninvitingDecorated (in calming ways) A Field Guide to Office Spaces

22. Online personality Three 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

23. Online personality The answers to the questions are… – 1. Consensus: Yes! People do agree on the personality of the owner of a website – 2. Accuracy: Yes! People can be quite accurate at gauging personality from a website—even an individual person is often accurate Openness is the easiest trait to distinguish Not due to sex or age stereotypes – 3. Impression management: Yes! People do emphasize more flattering aspects of their personality Extraversion and agreeableness tend to be enhanced

24. Online personality FFM = Big Five

25. Online personality Are Facebook profiles accurate? Or do they reflect an idealized self? They’re accurate! – Actual personality is a much better predictor of profile content than ideal personality – Accuracy is highest for extraversion and openness, lowest for neuroticism Back et al., 2010

26. Where you live Rentfrow et al., 2008

27. Where you live Rentfrow et al., 2008

28. Where you live Why? Where do these regional differences stem from? Rentfrow et al., 2008

29. Cat People and Dog People Dog people46% Cat people12% Both28% Neither15% Dog people 15% more extraverted 13% more agreeable 11% more conscientious Cat people 12% more neurotic 11% more open

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

31. 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 stickers – Category 2: In the middle. These are deliberate modifications of your environment, but signaling is not the purpose. Ex. Creating a comfortable living space – Category 3: Hardest to manipulate. These are inadvertent signals, byproducts of our behavior. Ex. Dirty dishes in the sink

32. Controllability of impressions

33. For more information…

34. Summary People have strong beliefs about what we can read about a person from the things they do and own Some of these things are actually highly predictive of a person’s true personality This arises for several reasons – Heritability, choice, etc.

35. Next time… What are some useful ways to segment a population?