Mc. Blackman et Dc. Funder, THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION ON CONSENSUS AND ACCURACY IN PERSONALITY JUDGMENT, Journal of experimental social psychology, 34(2), 1998, pp. 164-181
An experimental study examined the effect of the amount of available i
nformation on interjudge consensus and self-other agreement (accuracy)
in personality judgment. Three hundred sixty perceiver-subjects (180
F and 180 M) each watched one of 6 targets (3 F and 3 M) on videotape
for 5-10, 15-20, or 25-30 min. Accuracy was significantly greater in t
he longest than in the shortest observation condition. Within this ove
rall difference, the linear effect of information on accuracy was stro
ng (and significant) only for the most visible of the traits that were
judged, including those relevant to extraversion. A fairly high level
of consensus was achieved after the shortest period of observation an
d did not increase with longer observation for any kind of trait. Amon
g a separate group of acquaintances who had known the targets for an a
verage of 14 months, both accuracy and consensus was much higher than
our perceiver-subjects achieved after 30 min. Further analyses showed
that, with more information, consensus was more highly associated with
accuracy, even though the level of consensus did not change. (C) 1998
Academic Press.