The Impact of Self-Presentation of Extraversion–Introversion on Presenter’s Explicit and Implicit Extraversion–Introversion

Abstract

This study examined whether (1) self-presentation of extraversion/introversion changes the presenter’s explicit and implicit extraversion and (2) the presence of an audience informed of the presenter’s personal information moderates the effects. Sixty-two participants were randomly assigned to four conditions: 2 (trait presented: extraversion or introversion)×2 (situation: presence or absence of audience). We conducted three-way ANOVA where the timing of measurement (immediately before or after self-presentation) served as a within-subject factor, separately for explicit and implicit extraversion as a dependent variable. Throughout the analyses, only the main effect of the timing for implicit extraversion was significant; self-presentation increased implicit but not explicit extraversion, irrespective of the trait presented or the situation. We discussed mechanisms underlying change in implicit extraversion and reasons for discrepancy from previous findings, especially the possibility that measurement immediately before self-presentation may have inhibited change in explicit extraversion.