Inferring Personality Across Contexts: Accuracy and Agreement in Behavioral and Dating App Judgments

Accurately inferring personality traits is central to mate selection, yet how social context influences these judgments remains unclear. This study examined whether personality traits are perceived differently when conveyed through behavioral descriptions versus dating profile descriptions. In a two-stage design, participants first generated acts representing high, moderate, and low levels of five traits. A separate sample then identified the intended trait and rated perceived trait strength. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using intraclass correlations (ICC), and accuracy was evaluated by comparing perceived and intended trait levels using multilevel modeling. Results suggest both contexts convey meaningful personality information, with marginal differences emerging in agreement and accuracy. These findings highlight how social context shapes personality perception in romantic decision-making.