20 checked facts

Personality

Everything on this site about personality — each one naming the study behind it.

You are a different person in different rooms.
Research by Mark Snyder in 1974 found that individuals possess distinct levels of self-monitoring, where some constant…
Your desire for closure changes the way you process information.
A 1993 study found that individuals with a higher desire for closure form opinions faster and are more resistant to ch…
You carry a deep belief about the world's character.
Research identifies 'primal world beliefs' as stable, subjective assumptions about whether the world is inherently saf…
You overestimate how much you will change in the future.
In a 2013 survey, people recognized how much they changed in the past but insisted their current personality was set f…
You naturally prefer effortful thinking over simple, automated shortcuts.
The 'need for cognition' trait measures a person's intrinsic tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful mental exertion…
Your name influences your career choices.
Research in the early 2000s suggested a correlation between initials and career choice, but this has been largely debu…
You are driven either by hope or caution.
Regulatory focus theory identifies two different motivational systems: a promotion focus on achievement and a preventi…
You believe you have finally become your final self.
A 2013 study found that people consistently underestimate how much their personality, values, and preferences will cha…
You think your personality is finished developing today.
The end-of-history illusion shows people recognize they have changed in the past but mistakenly believe they will rema…
You find vague personality descriptions surprisingly accurate.
The Forer effect is the tendency for people to accept broad personality assessments as uniquely applicable to them.…
A small mistake makes a high achiever more likable.
The pratfall effect states that a minor blunder can increase the perceived attractiveness of a highly competent indivi…
You find deep meaning in vague, generic descriptions.
The Barnum effect is a specific instance of the broader concept of subjective validation.…
You find personal meaning in descriptions written for everyone.
The Barnum effect is the psychological phenomenon where individuals believe that vague, generic personality descriptio…
Competence is more likeable when it is slightly flawed.
The pratfall effect is the tendency for a mistake to increase the attractiveness of an already highly competent person…
You accept generic personality descriptions as uniquely accurate.
In a 1949 study, students completed a personality test and were given a feedback report, which was identical for all p…
You adapt your behavior to fit what others expect.
A 1974 study found that high self-monitors consistently changed their behavior to match the social situation, whereas …
You accept vague personality descriptions as deeply personal.
Participants in a 1948 study rated a generic, personality-neutral paragraph as highly accurate when told it was writte…
You assume generic descriptions apply specifically to you.
The phenomenon is known as the Forer effect or the fallacy of personal validation, while the term 'Barnum effect' was …
Your past self is a stranger you judge harshly.
The end-of-history illusion is our tendency to believe we have reached our final personality despite significant growt…
You believe you have finally finished changing your personality.
In a 2013 study of 7,500 adults, participants consistently underestimated how much their personality, values, and pref…