A Nuanced Perspective on How Item Features Are Associated With Different Forms of Agreement

While personality research has repeatedly shown that self-, meta- and other-ratings of personality are correlated to a considerable degree, relatively little is known about how item features determine agreement between different perspectives, especially beyond observability and social desirability and at the level of personality nuances. The present study examines item features as predictors of different forms of agreement using two datasets (Study 1: targets N = 73, informants N = 549; Study 2: targets N = 189, informants N = 1352). Both studies used one-with-many designs in which each target was matched with several informants that differed in their attitudes toward the target. This matching was accomplished based on a first round robin assessment in larger groups. Targets then provided self- and meta-ratings, and informants provided other-ratings of personality on broad sets of items as markers of personality nuances. Items had been reliably rated with regard to five features: observability, social desirability, importance, stability and base rate. In both studies, we consistently found strong effects of item features on different types of inter-rater agreement. Inter-rater agreement was much higher for items referring to more observable target characteristics, and lower for more evaluative and (partially) for more important items. The important role of item features in future person perception research is discussed.