Author(s)

Eric Gilliland, Mark J. Kiss, Melanie A. Morrison, Todd G. Morrison^*

Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Few researchers have examined selfie taking behavior. To address this gap, 235 participants (age 18 - 60) completed an online questionnaire assessing a variety of psychological factors, personality traits, and selfie taking activities (i.e., frequency of selfies posted to social networking sites [SNSs], time spent editing selfies, and number of selfie takes prior to posting). A number of statistically significant correlations emerged. For example, participants’ levels of neuroticism, social physique anxiety, body-related shame, and concern about physical appearance correlated positively with the amount of time spent editing selfies. As well, group comparisons between selfie (n = 193) and non-selfie takers (n = 42) suggest that the former exhibit higher levels of certain facets of vanity. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are outlined.

Social Media, Vanity, Neuroticism, Body Image, Shame, Guilt

Gilliland, E. , Kiss, M. , Morrison, M. and Morrison, T. (2018) Characterological Correlates of Selfie Taking Behavior. Psychology, 9, 1530-1545. doi: 10.4236/psych.2018.96092.