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Identity, self, and personality: II. Glimpses through the autophotographic eye
1Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale 62901.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|June 1, 1993
Summary
College students
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Personality Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Understanding self-perception and identity is crucial in developmental psychology.
- The autophotographic method offers a unique lens for exploring self-expression.
- Personality traits significantly influence how individuals present themselves.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between personality traits and the richness of self-depiction using the autophotographic method.
- To examine how personality factors relate to interpersonal connectedness in self-portraits.
- To explore identity-relevant themes within student self-representations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized R. C. Ziller's autophotographic method with 201 college students.
- Assessed richness of self-depiction (creative vs. prosaic photo essays).
- Analyzed interpersonal connectedness and specific identity themes (e.g., religiosity, school identification).
Main Results:
- Openness to Experience predicted richer, more creative photo essays.
- For women, Neuroticism and Introversion also correlated with richer self-depictions.
- Extraversion and Agreeableness were linked to interpersonal orientations in photo essays.
- Intergenerational photos held significant meaning for personality expression.
Conclusions:
- Personality traits, particularly Openness, Neuroticism, Introversion, Extraversion, and Agreeableness, significantly shape self-depiction richness and interpersonal orientation.
- The autophotographic method effectively captures nuanced aspects of identity and personality.
- Self-expression through photography is influenced by individual differences and salient life experiences.
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