The letter of recommendation effect in informant ratings of personality.

Abstract

In most studies using informant reports of personality, the informants are recruited by the targets. Such informants may tend to like the targets and thus portray them in specific ways (e.g., too positively). Study 1 (N = 403) demonstrated the necessity to distinguish between "liking" and "knowing" in studying the relationships between informants and targets. Informants who liked their targets better described them more positively (i.e., as being more extraverted, agreeable, open, conscientious, and less neurotic). The association between personality ratings and liking was moderated by item evaluativeness. Liked targets were also described as being more similar to each other (range restriction), which would lower correlations of informant ratings of personality with external variables. Study 2 (N = 90) used a within-subjects design to disentangle actual personality differences between targets (substance) from the informants' specific views on the targets (style). Ninety informants were asked to nominate targets they did not like. These targets then nominated informants of their own choice. Target-nominated informants liked the targets very much and described the targets' personalities very positively and in ways that were highly redundant with the average target's self-rating. There was evidence that lower liking may be associated with better accuracy. Higher subjective levels of knowing were not associated with better interrater agreement but with a greater willingness to describe targets negatively. Implications for the field of recruiting are discussed. Where possible, the choice of informants and referees should be made independent of the targets' preferences.

Investigating the Veracity of Self-Perceived Posttraumatic Growth

“…Informant reports provide unique information over and above self-reports about an individual's personality (Vazire, 2006), but it is also true that certain informants may be susceptible to shared biases given the nature of their relationship with the targets (Leising, Erbs, & Fritz, 2010). For example, it is possible that informants were able to corroborate target participants' reports because they were just reporting back on what the participants had told them (Frazier et al, 2014).…”

Try to Find Me: Social Anxiety and Peer First Impressions

“…To some extent, their concerns about conveying negative impressions are warranted. We are drawn to people who make positive first impressions and are more likely to develop friendships with them than with those who impress us less favorably (e.g., Human & Biesanz, 2011b;Human, Sandstrom, Biesanz, & Dunn, 2013;Leising, Erbs, & Fritz, 2010). Making a positive first impression is not the entire story, however.…”

The Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors Associated With Pathological Personality Traits

“…(For the full instructions given to participants, please see the Appendix to this article.) The design of this study (i.e., asking informants to choose the target) and the instructions to choose a target with some level of dysfunction increased the likelihood that targets would have pathological traits and protected against positively biased ratings of targets (Leising, Erbs, & Fritz, 2010). Participants were also asked how well they know this person on a 5-point scale ranging from "I don't really know the person'" (1) to "Extremely well" (5).…”