| With the increasing prevalence of social networking sites (SNS), understanding how individuals perceive and judge each other in online contexts is vital. This dissertation investigates the accuracy of personality judgements made based on two popular platforms, Twitter and Instagram. This dissertation builds upon previous research which found Instagram profiles provided for more accurate personality judgements, explores the cues that contribute to accurate perceptions in these online spaces, and evaluates two methods of training individuals to improve personality judgement accuracy based on Twitter profiles. In Study 1, cues were coded on 102 social media profiles, with coders recording a variety of objective and subjective cues both common across platforms and unique to each platform. The Brunswick Lens Model was utilized to identify cues that were valid (actually pertaining to the targets’/profile owners’ personality) and/or utilized (used by judges to form impressions). The hypothesis that higher levels of anonymity on Twitter would explain differences in accuracy between platforms was also assessed. Anonymity was not found to differ significantly between platforms, but was found to influence normative perceptions, with less anonymous targets being perceived with higher normativity. Study 2 evaluated two methods for training and improving judgement accuracy based on Twitter profiles. Utilizing valid yet unutilized cues identified in Study 1, 100 judges received online training about the personality traits of open-mindedness and conscientiousness, and cues on Twitter profiles that are indicative of those traits. Half of these 100 judges also received personalized feedback about the accuracy of their judgements. Fifty judges served as a control group and received no training. It was predicted that judges that received training and feedback would be more accurate than judges that received only training, and that both training groups would be more accurate in their perceptions than the control group. Training was not found to significantly improve judgement accuracy, but valuable insights and avenues for future research were uncovered. This research contributes to the understanding of both the complexities of social relationships online and research on training and improving judgement accuracy. |