Press release: Facebook profiles convey realistic impressions

Nr. 160/2013 - 13.09.2013

Psychologists and Göttingen University analyse social networks

(pug) There are two widespread opinions about social networks: One claims that many people use Facebook to present themselves in the most positive light. The other assumes that many Facebook users are not aware of the impression they make on others. Neither is the case: In recent studies, scientists at the German universities of Münster, Mainz and Göttingen found that personal profile pages less reflect the self-idealisation of the profile owner, but rather portray their actual personality. Moreover, Facebook users have a precise idea about the impression they make on others, and there are only a few personality traits they try to give a certain impression of. "The assumption that social networks are specifically or solely used to convey users’ most optimal self-presentation and idealisation is false. Users are much more honest and realistic than assumed,“ emphasises Dr. Juliane Stopfer of the University of Göttingen.

Every month, more than one billion people in the world use Facebook to share personal and professional information, stay in touch with each other and make new friends, meet new partners or find out about career opportunities. As in "real life," Facebook users face a number of important decisions: Who do I want to share information with? Who do I like? Who do I trust? Who do I want to get to know better? The multitude of social decisions made on Facebook are mandatorily based on how the users and their social partners behave online and judge each other; that is, which information they post on their Facebook profiles and which conclusions they arrive at based on this information. To date, however, very little has been known about these processes. How do people on online networks behave and how do they perceive each other? Can we judge our Facebook friends correctly and how do we know what impressions we leave on others? How strongly do people distort their personalities in their Facebook profiles? What makes one popular on Facebook, and to whom is the most social influence attributed?

The research group analysed numerous online profiles – photos, self-descriptions, group memberships and wall posts. What they found out is not only that online profiles deliver a precise impression of their owners' personality and that profile owners are aware of the effect they have on others – the researchers were also able to explain how popular the people are on Facebook: People with a high degree of modesty, kindness and a focus on social similarities are liked by others because of their online profiles – as are people who are strongly open-minded towards new experiences and with a certain artistic streak. By contrast, based on their online profiles, a higher social status is attributed to self-confident, extroverted, dominant people focused on personal advancement.

Overall, the results suggest that social behaviour and perceptions on Facebook work according to similar principles as in "real life". Similar to direct social encounters, there are also strong differences online in terms of how extroverted or cautious, original or conformist, friendly or grumpy, organised or haphazard, self-confidently or self-pityingly people behave. They differ in how much and what they tell about themselves, how they look and which social groups they subscribe to. These visible differences can be explained by underlying differences in the Facebook users' personalities and are critical when making social judgements and social decisions based on them.

Original publication: Juliane Stopfer et al. (2013): Being popular in online social networks: How agentic, communal, and creativity traits relate to judgements of status and liking. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 592-598.

Contact address:
Dr. Juliane Stopfer
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Faculty of Biology and Psychology
Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology
Goßlerstrasse 14, 37073 Göttingen
Email: jstopfer@uni-goettingen.de