Exploring the acquaintanceship effect for the accuracy of judgments of traits and profiles of adult playfulness

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to extend the research on the interpersonal perception of adult playfulness (global and facets: Other- directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical [OLIW]) by testing whether judgmental accuracy relates to indi-cators of acquaintanceship.Background: Playfulness has been found to contribute to social relationships.Method: Using data from 658 dyads (1,318 participants) who had been acquainted for 1 month to 62.2 years, we computed measurement invariance analyses and self–other agreement (SOA) for the facets and profiles of playfulness. We operational-ized acquaintanceship as length of acquaintanceship, relationship type (friends, family, and partners), and intensity of acquaintanceship. We tested acquaintance-ship effects with multigroup latent analyses and response surface analyses.Results: Self- and other ratings of playfulness showed scalar measurement in-variance and robust SOA in traits and distinctive profiles (≥ .37). There was only minor evidence for acquaintanceship effects for relationship duration (only Intellectual playfulness), and group comparisons showed that friends yielded lower SOA in profiles than dyads of family members and couples.Conclusion: Considering that playfulness can be accurately perceived even at zero acquaintance, we discuss whether playfulness is a “good trait” (high trait visibility) in which acquaintanceship plays a minor role. We also discuss methodological consid-erations for detecting acquaintanceship effects during relationship formation..