• NEW Last.FM music DB collected by Liam McNamara. Click here for full details.
• Current version of the data: 5th September 2011
• NEW LIKES DB: www.LikeAudience.com . Obviously we also have this data in a convenient SPSS format!
• new triads database have just been added - check it out: Triads
• We have now added lon/lat location of our US users
• 2010-11-08 Two more files available: item level data from PILL and SWL questionnaires.

news archive

This wiki contains information about the myPersonality project, particularly about:

• accessing and using the data stored in our databases
• publishing your own measures on the myPersonality platform

If you are a registered collaborator - feel free and encouraged to edit this Wiki! It's as easy as pressing the “edit” button on the bottom right corner of each section. The myPersonality project constantly evolves and many people contribute to it, so there is always something new to add. Don't be afraid to correct mistakes and to add or clarify the information that you can find here - if something goes wrong all the unwanted edits can be reverted.

If you want to register as a collaborator, you need help, want to clarify or elaborate on something, please write to contact@mypersonality.org . We will try answer your question and simultaneously add it to this wiki.

Good luck with your research!

David Stillwell & Michal Kosinski

Updated October 2011

• Nearly 5m people have completed a questionnaire
• Users can retake myPersonality tests, giving us longitudinal data. The Big 5 test has been retaken over 900,000 times.
• Users can rate the personalities of their FB friends. There have been over 300,000 friend-ratings.
• About 40% of users give us access to the data on their FB profiles…
• This includes their preferences, as expressed by FB Likes. We have more than 36,000,000 user-like pairs. See examples of this data in action: LikeAudience and YouAreWhatYouLike
• There are more than 25 different questionnaires available on myPersonality
• More than 40 countries have had 1000 or more participants, but currently myPersonality is only in English
• myPersonality Comprehensive is a 336 question test measuring the 30 facets underlying the big 5 traits. Users pay $4 to participate or complete other research to earn Credits. More than 6,000 users have done so
• Over 20 researchers are using myPersonality data, from disciplines across the social sciences.
• myPersonality was set up in June 2007

And what the heck is this whole facebook?!!! Well, nearly 50% of the population in quite a few countries are “on Facebook”. This includes 98% of students in the UK and quite probably your grandma, too. She just hasn't added you as a friend! Nevertheless, as always, there are drawbacks:

1. people might be less motivated, more playful and distracted (BUT, they are also in their natural environment. AND we implement a series of psychometric methods aimed at detecting questionnaires submitted by inattentive or otherwise randomly responding individuals AND we show that we have same amount or more valid data then in traditional pen-and-paper questionnaires)
2. repeated participation (BUT we remove repeated protocols or use them in test-retest studies)
3. language incompetence of international audience (BUT one can detect it in the similar way to how you detect randomly responding participants - also easy access to an international audience is a great advantage)
4. sample bias due to facebook environment (YES, but on the other hand, even if some groups are under-represented you will still find plenty among our 5.5 mln (and growing) users.
5. self-enhancement or scores influenced by friends in another way (YES, but users can choose to make any of their scores private and some of the most personal questionnaires cannot be shared even if one wishes. It might be that filling a questionnaire on your on computer at home is much more private then in the lab or wherever else)
6. fake FB profiles (happens very rarely AND really easy to spot (e.g. by looking at network properties). Profile information is also “verified” by an individual's social circle - it is hard to lie to the people that know you best. Moreover, we do not scare people away (unlike other psychologists) by asking personal questions. Instead we just ask if we can record the profile. Also, there is no pressure - one does not have to share her profile info (users must opt IN) - thus we avoid deliberate faking of the data)
7. technical problems (BUT much less dangerous than in entering data “by hand” AND dozens of people use this data which helps to spot and remove mistakes)
8. anything else comes to your mind? Add it here!

(obviously don't forget to change the dates. Also, please vary the order of the authors based on who you have worked most closely with.)

If you'd like to cite the myPersonality project:

Kosinski, M. & Stillwell, D.J. (2011). myPersonality Research Wiki. myPersonality Project. Retrieved June, 2011, from http://mypersonality.org/wiki

If you'd like to cite a specific questionnaire, please link to the questionnaire page. It may also be necessary to include the person who helped to make the questionnaire available on myPersonality:

Rentfrow, P.J., Kosinski, M. & Stillwell, D.J. (2011). Schwartz's Values Survey available on myPersonality. myPersonality Project. Retrieved June, 2011, from http://www.mypersonality.org/wiki/doku.php?id=schwartz_s_values_survey

Most common words on this wiki