Contributions of Nonverbal Cues to the Accurate Judgment of Personality Traits

Abstract

This chapter summarizes research on nonverbal expressions of behavior (nonverbal cues) and how they contribute to the accuracy of personality judgments. First, it presents a conceptual overview of relevant nonverbal cues in the domains of facial expressions, body language, paralanguage, and appearance as well as approaches to assess these cues on different levels of aggregation. It then summarizes research on the validity of nonverbal cues (what kind of nonverbal cues are good indicators of personality?) and the utilization of nonverbal cues (what kind of nonverbal cues lead to personality impressions?), resulting in a catalog of those cues that drive judgment accuracy for different traits. Finally, it discusses personal and situational characteristics that moderate the expression and utilization of nonverbal cues and give an outlook for future research.