Why informal discussion is important: A four-minute conversation can reveal key personality traits

A research team at the University of Warwick in the UK asked participants in their study to have conversations with unknown people online for only four minutes. They found that people judge the personalities of other people pretty quickly.

Participants especially felt the extraversion or introversion in people, which finally helped them change their behavior accordingly.

Another study debunked the myth of love at first glance, as the results showed that it takes nearly two minutes of interaction for the novel to blossom.

Previous studies have shown that people rapidly make assumptions about personalities during face-to-face interaction, but very little is known about what happens when these interactions are virtual and the other person is invisible.

In the study, 168 participants spoke for four minutes. They noted their impressions of the personality of the other.

As a result, they were instructed to play strategic games with the same person. As well, 170 participants played strategic games with strangers without engaging in informal discussions for comparative purposes.

The results showed that participants who participated in informal discussions made an impression before the game and that it affected their strategy while playing.

In one of the games, participants behaved more cooperatively with people they thought were extroverts.

‘Our research underlines the importance of regular communication, even when it seems neither relevant nor important,’ the researchers said.