The good judge revisited: Individual differences in the accuracy of personality judgments

This study examined individual differences in the accuracy of personality judgments. Participants (N= 122) reviewed videotaped segments of 3 individuals responding to employment interview questions, judged the personality of the interviewees, and rated acquaintances who later completed self-report personality inventories. Participants also completed measures of general mental ability, personality, and dispositional intelligence (knowledge of how personality is related to behavior). Results indicated that dispositional intelligence was related to general mental ability(r = .43) and Openness to Experience (r = .33) and emerged as the best predictor of interview accuracy (r - .41), acquaintance accuracy (r = .42), and an accuracy composite (r = .52). In addition, the relationship between dispositional intelligence and acquaintance accuracy was moderated by Conscientiousness and Agreeableness with a stronger association being observed when elevation on these traits was high. Implications for occupational success and future research on individual differences related to inferential accuracy are discussed.