Accuracy of the Five-Factor Model in Predicting Perceptions of Daily Social Interactions

The present study examined whether individuals' personality ratings on dimensions of the five-factor model (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness) predicted their immediate perceptions of themselves and others during daily social interactions. Participants completed personality measures at an initial session and recorded and evaluated their interactions over a 1-week period. Participants' immediate perceptions were predicted strongly by their extraversion scores, moderately by their agreeableness and neuroticism scores, and only weakly by their openness to experience score. These findings suggest that at least three of the five factors accurately represent individuals' thoughts and feelings during their daily lives.