Publication date: 17 Feb 2023
What is already known about this subject:
- General topic and importance: Who are the people we want to be associated with? And who do we try to avoid? Being associated with – and supported by – the people we like, while not having to deal with people we dislike, may account for an important part of our well-being!
- Gap in the literature: Past research has helped us understand how likeable or dislikeable different personality traits are. But so far, very little of this research has helped us identify the most salient traits in people we like and dislike. In other words, when thinking about people you like or dislike, which are the first traits that spring to mind? Further, can our own personalities influence how we identify and describe people we like and dislike?
- Aim of the manuscript: In this study, we asked Gen2 participants to complete a personality survey, and then describe in free text a person they liked and then a person they disliked. We wanted to see from the language used by the participants whether certain traits would be mentioned in these descriptions. We were also interested in testing whether participants’ own personality traits would affect how they described the people they liked and disliked.
What this study adds
- Sample Participants were 441 Gen2 cohort members who had completed the survey as part of the work design matters project in 2016. Participants were all aged between 24 and 26 years, and 35% were male.
- Main Findings We found that people tended to describe the people they liked as being honest, humble, patient, warm, organized, and hardworking. The disliked people were described as being the opposite – untrustworthy, arrogant, rude, unfriendly, disorganized or lazy. Our personalities also seem to affect who we like and dislike. We found that participants that were more open to new experiences (a personality trait) also described the people they liked as also being open to new experiences.
- Significance This study provides us with new information about the most salient traits that are used to describe disliked people. These people can be work colleagues, housemates, family members, or friends. Knowing whether certain traits are widely disliked can help us make better decisions about who to work with, who to befriend, and who to avoid.