Classroom ratings of likeability and popularity are related to the Big Five and the general factor of personality

The present study examined whether: (i) self-rated personality (Big Five) is related to peer-ratings of likeability and popularity in classmates and (ii) a General Factor of Personality (GFP), reflecting the shared variance of the Big Five, is related to social status. In a sociometric approach, adolescent classmates (N = 512) rated each other on likeability and popularity. The Big Five dimensions Extraversion and Emotional Stability were associated with likeability as well as popularity whereas Agreeableness was positively related to likeability and Conscientiousness negatively to popularity. Moreover, the results of correlation and regression analyses and Structural Equation Modeling converged in showing that the GFP was also a predictor of likeability and popularity, although the GFP played a somewhat larger role in likeability than in popularity. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.