I decided to use a facebook profile as a space for evaluating someone's personality based on the Brunswikian Lens Model. The Brunswikian Lens Model is an impression formation model used to assess others based on cues and how they’re used. I chose a profile at random browsing through the Cornell network and began my assessment. Focusing on the different elements of a facebook profile I was able to make assessments about the selected individual, whom I will now on refer to as Bob, according to the four mechanisms mentioned in the Lens Model that tie an individual to his/her environment.
The first two links between an individual and his/her environment are centered on identity claims. Identity claims are things that allow a person to relate their character and personality to others. I began by examining the self-directed identity claims seen in Bob’s facebook profile. Under the personal info section of his profile, Bob has a message written in some language that looks similar to Russian. Given that the average person who will be viewing this profile at Cornell does not speak Russian, it is more of a self-directed identity claim than one for others. Also, I noticed that he is a member of several groups that names don’t make much sense to me at all, another self-directed claim that only Bob and a few select others will comprehend. The identity claims directed towards others fall under the basic info at the top about Bob’s birthday, hometown, religion, gender, as well as the contact info and majority of the personal info sections. These serve the purpose of letting others gain some insight into Bob’s identity, hence other-directed identity claims.
The next two links are centered on behavioral residue. Behavioral residue is inadvertent clues we leave about our past. I began by examining interior residue on Bob’s facebook profile, which are past experiences that happened within the medium itself. This is a fairly easy task thanks to facebook’s mini-feed, which displays recent activities the user has undertaken on facebook within their profile. I then looked to the exterior behavioral residue found on Bob’s profile. I found this in his pictures of things he’s done in the past. Also, I could find bits of exterior residue lodged within wall posts and notes.
I then used Hancock and Dunham’s Five Factor Model to rate Bob. This model is a set of five fundamental personality traits that are used to assess a person’s personality. To begin, I’d rate Bob high on openness and extraversion based on the large amount of facebook friends that he has, and also the large amount of people seen in pictures with him in his profile pictures. I would also attribute rate him high on agreeableness based on his pictures, and the positive wall comments he receives commonly. Bob gets a lower rating on conscientiousness due to the fact that his main profile picture includes him shirtless, with a glass of beer in hand. However, for the same reasons as those listed above, I would give Bob a fairly low rating in neuroticism, primarily because everything points to him being a happy, sociable, and positive guy. I’d say it’s fairly safe to say most of the cues I used for this rating were fairly valid, and although there may be some forms of selective-self presentation going on, Bob utilizes these cues effectively via facebook to allow a decent personality assessment.
3 comments:
Hey Jeffrey,
I think that you make some great observations and points in your post. I really found it interesting to read about how you would interpret this person you have never met before solely based on her profile. I found that the identity claims Bob made were great and I am wondering how they made you feel? Are you more or less interested in getting to know Bob? After reading your interpretations of his claims and behaviors as well as how you would rate him on the 5 factor model that Bob seems like a pretty outgoing, easy to get along with kind of person. My question therefore is whether or not he would be the kind of person you would want to get to know and become friends with? Also, you said that your ratings were fairly valid which made me think about the factors you looked at on facebook and whether facebook is a credible source or not. This is a very important determination because I know I base a lot of my impressions of people I don't know based on their profiles. Needless to say, I would be curious to meet Bob in person and see whether your rankings would be similar to mine.
Hi Jeffrey, this is an excellent post! You certainly made my foggy understanding of the four mechanisms that link individuals to their environment a lot clearer to me—thanks to the very organized and insightful analysis of Bob’s profile. It is fortunate you found such a profile rich in these mechanisms to write about, in my opinion, the example of the usage of the Cyrillic alphabet in the personal information section as a self-directed identity claim. One could make the argument that he is writing in this foreign language to appear to others as interesting, cultured, or proud of his possibly Russian heritage, but as far as the content of the message goes, you are right in saying that it is a self-directed identity claim.
I have a very nitpicky comment: the five factor personality model is not Hancock and Dunham’s; they just used it in their experiment. I find it interesting how you developed a hyperpersonal impression of Bob in the fact that your ratings were all either high or low.
Hey Jeffrey! I really enjoyed your post and thought that you applied the Brunswikian Lens Model perfectly to "Bob's" facebook profile. I especially liked that you classified the Russian part of his profile as a self-directed identity claim. I'm sure not many people other than him can appreciate what is written. There was a nice analysis of the interior behavioral residue, as well. Did he have any interesting past activities within facebook? Did it reflect anything that you found in his exterior residue? Overall, I though this was a great post that addressed all of the key aspects of the Brunswikian Lens Model. Great job!
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