The relation between personality and the words people use: Results from a meta-analysis

What is it about?

Someone who speaks a lot is more likely to be high on extraversion. Someone who uses long words is more likely to be higher on openness to experience - which, in turn, is related to higher intelligence. Someone who swears and uses negative emotions (e.g., hurt, ugly, hate, kill) is more likely to be disagreeable and low on conscientiousness. These are the results of a meta-analysis between the Big Five personality traits and the linguistic categories people use.

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Why is it important?

Inferring people's personality is an essential skill and something that we all do because it has significant implications on who to date, befriend, trust, or hire. The present meta-analysis shows that our language reflects who we are, and we can use language to make somewhat accurate estimates of other people's personality as well. Next time you meet someone, pay attention to what they say!