Perceptions of personality in text-based media and OSN: A meta-analysis

•We examined accuracy and consensus for perceiving Big-5 traits from writing and OSN.•We found reliable consensus effects for all five personality traits.•Participants perceived all traits, except neuroticism, with reliable accuracy.

Research has shown that personality can be accurately perceived at zero-acquaintance. Although most of this work has focused on physical appearance, a growing number of studies has suggested that personality may be perceptible from other sources of information. In the current meta-analysis, we examined studies that reported accuracy and consensus effects for the perception of the Big Five traits from text-based media and online social network websites. We found substantial consensus for all five traits. Moreover, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were perceived accurately. Importantly, we provide the aggregate effect sizes that researchers might expect when examining similar phenomena to help guide future studies and discuss several potential avenues for valuable additional research in personality and person perception.