En förväxling mellan personlighetsdrag och kompetens sker när vi bildar oss en uppfattning om andra

Abstract

Recent research in the field of personality suggests that in self-assessment personality tests, we tend to confuse personality traits with competence. This study investigates how this confusion manifests itself in third-person assessment, when traits are described through frequency of behavior while competence expresses the extent to which a behavior leads to successful outcomes. In addition to the main cause of the study, the halo-effect to the competencies is greater when a person is described as high on a trait than is the case when the traits are described as neutral was examined. Exploratory analyses were performed for the response time as it can give explanations to the confidence with which the confusion occurs. Participants (N = 246) in the study underwent a memory test in which the task was to form an opinion of three target people, who were described as high on one personality trait and medium on another, only to later recall them from a list of familiar traits as well as unfamiliar competencies and unfamiliar traits. The results from this study showed that participants had difficulty discriminating between familiar and unfamiliar items, which provides support for a general halo-effect. Dependent t-tests confirmed the study's hypothesis that higher traits produce greater halo-effect to competencies than medium trait shows. Patterns in response time were discussed. In conclusion, it can be said that the study shows the need to design measurement methods for personality in which trait and competence are separated.

Date of Award	2022-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Öyvind Jörgensen (Supervisor) & Emma A. Renström (Examiner)