How extraverted is honey.bunny77@hotmail.de? Inferring personality from e-mail addresses

@article{citeulike:2764292, abstract = {Computer mediated communication (CMC) plays a rapidly growing role in our social lives. Within this domain, e-mail addresses represent the thinnest slice of information that people receive from one another. Using 599 e-mail addresses of young adults, their self-reported personality scores and the personality judgments of 100 independent observers, it was shown that personality impressions based solely on e-mail addresses were consensually shared by observers. Moreover, these impressions contained some degree of validity. This was true for neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and narcissism but not for extraversion. Level of accuracy was explained using lens model analyses: Lay observers made broad use of perceivable e-mail address features in their personality judgments, features were slightly valid and observers were sensitive to subtle differences in validity between cues. Altogether, even the thinnest slice of CMC--the mere e-mail address--contains valid information about the personality of its owner.}, author = {Back, Mitja D. and Schmukle, Stefan C. and Egloff, Boris }, citeulike-article-id = {2764292}, doi = {10.1016/j.jrp.2008.02.001}, journal = {Journal of Research in Personality}, keywords = {2008, email, personality}, posted-at = {2008-05-07 09:27:37}, priority = {2}, title = {How extraverted is honey.bunny77@hotmail.de? Inferring personality from e-mail addresses}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.02.001}, volume = {In Press, Corrected Proof} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2764292 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2764292 TI - How extraverted is honey.bunny77@hotmail.de? Inferring personality from e-mail addresses JF - Journal of Research in Personality VL - In Press, Corrected Proof N2 - Computer mediated communication (CMC) plays a rapidly growing role in our social lives. Within this domain, e-mail addresses represent the thinnest slice of information that people receive from one another. Using 599 e-mail addresses of young adults, their self-reported personality scores and the personality judgments of 100 independent observers, it was shown that personality impressions based solely on e-mail addresses were consensually shared by observers. Moreover, these impressions contained some degree of validity. This was true for neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and narcissism but not for extraversion. Level of accuracy was explained using lens model analyses: Lay observers made broad use of perceivable e-mail address features in their personality judgments, features were slightly valid and observers were sensitive to subtle differences in validity between cues. Altogether, even the thinnest slice of CMC--the mere e-mail address--contains valid information about the personality of its owner. KW - 2008 KW - email KW - personality AU - Back, Mitja AU - Schmukle, Stefan AU - Egloff, Boris UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.02.001 ER -