CLICK HERE to see a chapter that summarizes findings from this study.   

This study was concerned with the comparison of self-report personality measures and impressions based on a peer nomination measure.  It included two large, non-clinical samples of participants: approximately 2,000 military recruits and 1,700 college freshmen. The original personality data were collected between 1997 and 2001.  The participants were all identified and tested in groups (training flights for the military recruits and dorm floors for the college students). We chose these groups for several important reasons.  Most importantly, they offered an opportunity to collect self-report and peer nomination data within groups composed of people who were relatively well acquainted with each other.

Our groups included previously unacquainted young adults who were assembled from a wide range of geographic areas and all lived together in close proximity for a fairly standard period of time (six weeks for the recruits and five to seven months for the students).  All were going through a challenging period of adjustment.  For most, this was the first time that they had lived for an extended period of time away from their parents’ home.  The participants were adapting to a completely new set of circumstances (living arrangements, educational or occupational demands) and also becoming acquainted with a new group of people.  Individual differences might be expected to be exaggerated (and perhaps best studied) during this type of transition or period of social discontinuity.