The Oxford Handbook of Accurate Personality Judgment

Each day, we make judgments about the personality characteristics of those around us, and we routinely rely on them to guide our behavior in interpersonal interactions and relationships. This handbook provides a review of theory and research on the accuracy of personality judgments. After a historical review, the first section presents the major theoretical models that guide research in this area and describes methodological approaches to evaluating accuracy. The second section reviews the research findings relevant to four moderators of accuracy, and the third section focuses on judgments people make of themselves. The fourth section examines various types of information used in making personality judgments, while the fifth section provides examples of some of the domains to which accuracy research can be applied, including romantic relationships and clinical practice. Learning about the process of accurate judgments can be used to help people understand when and how they are more likely to make accurate judgments, and this handbook offers a thorough, evidence-based, and up-to-date review of this research field.

Tera D. Letzring is a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Experimental Psychology PhD program at Idaho State University. She earned a PhD in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside in 2005, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Puget Sound in 1999. Dr. Letzring’s research focuses on the interpersonal accuracy of judgments of personality, and in particular on the factors that moderate accuracy.

Jana S. Spain is a Professor of Psychology at High Point University. She earned her MA and PhD from the University of California, Riverside in 1994 and a BA in Psychology from San Diego State University in 1988. Dr. Spain’s research focuses on the link between personality and daily life experience and the accuracy of personality judgments.