Whereas theory and research agree that social interactions are central mediators of the associations between personality and relationship outcomes, less is known about the mechanisms involved. This is particularly evident when looking at adolescence, when social networks restructure and expand. Drawing on experience sampling data from two adolescent samples (overall N > 200), we examined which self and other perceptions of real-life social interaction behaviors contribute to the links between personality (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and momentary satisfaction with social interactions. Multilevel exploratory factor analyses revealed that most social perceptions could be represented by two factors, labeled expressive and communal behavior. As hypothesized, we found that higher extraversion and agreeableness, and lower neuroticism predicted greater satisfaction with social interactions. These associations were mediated by higher perceptions of expressive and communal behavior in the case of agreeableness and extraversion and by lower perceptions of expressive behavior in the case of neuroticism. Contrary to our expectations, the results were the same no matter whether self or other perceptions were used as mediators. We discuss how our results inform about the co-development of personality and social relationships from a microlevel perspective and outline directions for future research on perceived social interaction behavior.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.