Personality on Social Network Sites: An Application of the Five Factor Model

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Personality on Social Network Sites: An Application of the Five Factor Model

Author Info

Stefan Wehrli ()

Abstract

In this paper we explore how individual personality characteristics influence online social networking behavior. We use data from an online survey with 1560 respondents from a major Swiss technical university and their corresponding online profiles and friendship networks on a popular Social Network Site (SNS). Apart from sociodemographic variables and questions about SNS usage, we collected survey data on personality traits with a short question inventory of the Five Factor Personality Model (BFI-15). We show how these psychological network antecedents influence participation, adoption time, nodal degree and ego-network growth over a period of 4 months on the networking platform. Statistical analysis with overdispersed degree distribution models identifies extraversion as a major driving force in the tie formation process. We find a counter-intuitive positive effect for neuroticism, a negative influence for conscientiousness and no effects for openness and agreeableness.

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Paper provided by ETH Zurich, Chair of Sociology in its series ETH Zurich Sociology Working Papers with number 7.

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Length: 17 pages
Date of creation: 05 Sep 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ets:wpaper:7

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2008-09-13 (All new papers)
NEP-CBE-2008-09-13 (Cognitive & Behavioural Economics)
NEP-ICT-2008-09-13 (Information & Communication Technologies)
NEP-NET-2008-09-13 (Network Economics)
NEP-SOC-2008-09-13 (Social Norms & Social Capital)

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Cameron, A Colin & Trivedi, Pravin K, 1986. "Econometric Models Based on Count Data: Comparisons and Applications of Some Estimators and Tests," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 29-53, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Matthew O. Jackson & Brian W. Rogers, 2007. "Meeting Strangers and Friends of Friends: How Random Are Social Networks?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(3), pages 890-915, June. [Downloadable!]

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