Umeå universitets logga

Contextual influences have long been recognized as an important factor explaining individual differences in perception of personality traits. In this study we investigated whether interpersonal complementarity creates a context for the perception of personality traits, and whether gender stereotypes play a role in the process. Participants were 205 students taking a personality psychology course. They evaluated personality traits in the context of observing an interpersonal exchange that reflected complementarity. Among the respondents, 103 made the evaluation based on a gender stereotypical exchange (dominant male-submissive female) and 102 based their evaluation on a gender counterstereotypical exchange (dominant female-submissive male). Results reveal that interpersonal context had a stronger influence on ratings of conscientiousness, openness, and emotional stability traits than it did on extraversion and agreeableness trait ratings. Furthermore, openness and conscientiousness were particularly susceptible to gender-based stereotypes in the context of interpersonal complementarity. These results suggest that both interpersonal complementarity and gender stereotypes influence the perception of personality traits, but that they do so in a way that is unique to each trait.