| dc.description.abstract | Forenames are commonly recognized as labels used to identify or distinguish ourselves from others and signal varying levels of behavioral traits within a gender group, with some gender-specific forenames appearing as more prototypical than others. Forenames have been discovered to influence how individuals are perceived by others and even how we perceive ourselves. Forenames have also been found to predict one's facial appearance and behave as social tags that aid in the categorization of age and race. Therefore, the proposed study expands upon previous forename literature by exploring the "self-fulfilling prophecy" effect between forenames and personality traits associated with psychopathology. To examine this effect, data from 75 individuals who were administered the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) was collected and the forenames of each individual were distributed to participants recruited through a student subject pool. Participants were instructed to "stereotype" a randomized subset of the 75 forenames according to their perceived gender, race, and age. Following the collection of these ratings, the predicted associations between perceptions of personality traits and forenames were examined. While forename stereotypes were consistent with gender differences in disorder-relevant personality traits, they were not associated with the actual PAI data. These results only provided partial support for the aforementioned self-fulfilling prophecy theory. Therefore, future research should continue to investigate this theory, as the relationship between forenames, personality, and psychopathology holds significant potential for further exploration. | |
