PErsönlichkeitsentwicklung von ERstsemestern (PEER)

PEER is a project inspired by CONNECT and aims at a real-life field investigation of the social processes underlying the interplay of personality and peer-relationship development in young adulthood. Participants were first-year students at the University of Leipzig and were assessed several times over the course of their studies (two cohorts, total N = 123). Most of the assessed measures have also been assessed in CONNECT while CONNECT involved many additional measures that were not part of PEER. Thus, PEER is CONNECT’s “little brother”.

We collected five types of data for a comprehensive examination of the development of personality and social relationships from the very first time the participants met onwards. First, the study started with an introductory session including a videotaped zero-acquaintance experiment to capture mutual first impressions (liking, metaperceptions of liking, assertiveness and warmth perceptions) as well as expressed physical (e.g., attractiveness, stylishness) and behavioral cues (e.g., smiling, expressive gestures, loudness of voice, nervousness). Second the study involved online surveys to measure demographics and trait measures (e.g., Big Five, agency, communion, self-esteem, shyness, sociability, narcissism) as well as mutual personality perceptions using a round-robin design. The third type of assessment was a time-based online diary (6 waves) to obtain interpersonal perceptions (e.g., self- and other judgments of liking) and social relationship indicators (e.g., friendship and leadership nominations; relationship satisfaction, closeness, conflict, emotional and instrumental support) in regular time intervals.

An OSF page including a detailed Codebook for PEER will be appearing soon.