Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychology, Knox College, Galesburg, IL, USA
Abstract
One-hundred-seventeen participants rated hypothetical individuals on the “Big Five” personality traits, narcissism, intelligence, and creativity. Hypothetical individuals differed according to namesake status (named after a parent/relative or not), sex, and birth order. Namesaking interacted with both sex and birth order on ratings of many personality traits, but sex and birth order were stronger predictors of personality stereotypes than was namesaking. The results indicate that namesaking children may have implications for the expectations that others will have about their personalities, but the nature of these expectations will rely heavily upon the child’s gender and birth order.