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Being a good target, judgeable, or high in expressive accuracy plays a fundamental role in the accuracy of personality judgments. In line with Funder’s realistic accuracy model (RAM), targets are responsible for the quality and quantity of information—or cues—they provide to judges, and have the potential to influence how much attention and cognitive resources judges dedicate to those cues. In this chapter, target characteristics are discussed, such as psychological adjustment and social skills, which influence each stage of the RAM, thereby distinguishing good targets from targets that are more elusive or difficult to read. To conclude, possible intra- and inter-personal benefits of expressive accuracy and potential ways to enhance expressive accuracy are considered.

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Many of us rely on online communication methods, such as videoconferencing, to connect with each other. However, less is known about how interpersonal processes unfold in this novel context. For example, do people believe others view them positively, displaying meta-positivity, and realize others' unique impression of them, displaying distinctive meta-accuracy, and do these processes have implications for liking in social interactions? And, do the same characteristics that predict lower meta-positivity and distinctive metaaccuracy in-person, such as being more socially anxious, predict similar difficulties in video interactions? We examined these questions in an online first impressions context using a videoconferencing platform, Zoom (N = 555; N Dyads = 3,068), and compared them against an in-person sample (N = 305; N Dyads = 1,683). People believed others saw them positively and understood others' unique impressions of them, displaying similar degrees of meta-positivity and distinctive meta-accuracy in video interactions as in inperson interactions. In both contexts, meta-positivity was related to liking others more, whereas distinctive meta-accuracy was related to being liked more by others. Further, social anxiety seemed to impair metapositivity, which in turn contributed to why they liked others less in both contexts. In contrast to in-person interactions, social anxiety did not impair distinctive meta-accuracy in video interactions. Therefore, distinctive meta-accuracy did not account for the links between social anxiety and being liked in the video interaction context. Overall, metaperception processes generally operated very similarly online as in-person, though there were some noteworthy exceptions, in turn potentially bearing important implications for those with higher social anxiety.

Does the common advice to “be yourself” lead people to reveal who they truly are? And what broader personal and social implications might this advice bear? In an experimental first-impression study, we examined whether a manipulation instructing some people to be themselves (vs. no explicit instructions) led targets to have their unique personality profiles more accurately perceived, and carried personal and social benefits. Specifically, 204 targets participated in a video interview, with half the targets told to “be yourself” before the interview. Then, 373 observers watched subsets of target video interviews. Overall, the manipulation led targets to be seen with greater distinctive accuracy, especially on their more observable and evaluative self-aspects. However, the manipulation did not significantly influence impression normativity, target likability, nor target post-interview well-being. In sum, being told to be oneself elicits more accurate first-impression perceptions but may not bear immediate personal or social consequences.