Being popular in online social networks: How agentic, communal, and creativity traits relate to judgments of status and liking

Abstract

We investigated how personality affects both peer-perceived popularity (status) and sociometric popularity (liking) in online social networks (OSNs). Self-ratings of agentic (e.g., extraversion), communal (e.g., agreeableness), and creativity traits (e.g., openness) were collected from 103 OSN profile owners (targets). Unacquainted perceivers provided status and liking judgments based on either targets’ full OSN profiles or profile pictures. Independent coders assessed behavioral cues (e.g., attractiveness) from targets’ OSN profiles. Results showed that targets scoring high on agency were ascribed a high status (without necessarily being liked), whereas targets scoring high on creativity or communion were liked. Brunswikian lens model analyses revealed mediating behavioral cues. Analyses based on profile pictures suggested that the differentiated impact of personality on popularity is a fast process.