Seeing or smelling? Assessing personality on the basis of different stimuli

• I examine personality ratings based on photos, body odor and their combination.
• Neuroticism and dominance were accurately assessed based on body odor.
• Extraversion and neuroticism were accurately rated from combined photos and odor.
• Scent attractiveness correlated with targets’ personalities.

This study examines whether people can accurately assess personality on the basis of facial images and body odor and whether attractiveness influences these relationships. Three personality dimensions of target individuals – neuroticism, extraversion and dominance – were measured with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, a one-item measure of dominance and the reports of close acquaintances. Naive observers assessed neuroticism and dominance at above-chance levels based on body odor, and they assessed extraversion (and in some cases, neuroticism) at above-chance levels based on either facial images alone or body odor and facial images presented together. The accuracy differed depending on the sex of the targets and the raters. In addition, facial and body odor attractiveness predicted the targets’ personalities and the assessments of their personalities. These results show that the accuracy of personality assessment changes when judges assess different types of stimuli.