Multi-method personality assessment of butchers and hunters: Beliefs and reality

Abstract

Two studies examined beliefs about the personality of male butchers and hunters and the factuality of such beliefs. These professions’ daily routines involve killing animals and handling their carcasses, acts that could be facilitated by specific personality constellations. Study 1 (102 raters) evidenced perceptions of higher aggressiveness and masculinity of butchers/hunters and higher self-esteem (hunters only), as compared with average men. In contrast, Study 2 found little evidence for the factuality of such beliefs, based on multi-method personality assessments in a case-control design of 96 men (23 and 25 dyads including one butcher or hunter, matched with same-generation, other-occupation friends or relatives). Only implicit, but not explicit, aggressiveness (measured with an Implicit Association Test) was higher in butchers/hunters than in controls. Both masculinity (whether measured unobtrusively [digit ratio, 2D:4D] or explicitly) and self-esteem (whether measured implicitly [name-letter effect] or explicitly) were comparable for butchers/hunters and controls. Lower self-reported conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness in butchers/hunters than controls were not generalizable to informant reports of these Big Five dimensions. Discussion focuses on the merits of utilizing belief-factuality contrasts, controlled designs, and multi-method assessments in personality research.