Study Reveals Misconceptions About Personality and Tattoos

A recent study in the Journal of Research in Personality highlights how people often form strong yet inaccurate impressions of someone’s personality from their tattoos. Observers frequently assume that certain tattoos indicate traits like agreeableness or extraversion, but these perceptions don’t always match how the tattooed individuals see themselves—except for one notable exception. Tattoos deemed “wacky” were associated with a higher openness to new experiences.

Tattoos have become more common in the U.S., with surveys showing that nearly one-third of adults sport at least one. However, societal perceptions still linger. People tend to make quick judgments about tattooed individuals, often viewing them as rebellious or neurotic. Most previous studies focused on the differences in judgment between those with and without tattoos, which misses the diversity of tattoo types and the personal stories behind them.

The researchers aimed to delve deeper, not just into how people judge those with tattoos, but also into the accuracy of these judgments. They looked to see if factors like tattoo size or content could consistently signal aspects of personality. They even examined whether understanding the meaning behind a tattoo could lead to more accurate assessments.

“Our inspiration came from previous research comparing judgments of those with or without tattoos,” explained study author William J. Chopik, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University and head of the Close Relationships Lab.

“There are all these assumptions—like tattooed people are risky or have substance issues. But we realized that the interpretation could depend on the tattoo’s appearance. Some might be quirky while others are more somber, which affects perceptions.”

The study involved 274 tattooed adults, primarily women (71 percent) and mostly White, though other racial and ethnic groups were included. Participants completed a personality questionnaire covering the five main dimensions: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness. They also provided insight into the meanings of their tattoos and allowed photos to be taken.

In total, the study collected 375 tattoo images, with some participants showcasing two tattoos but most sharing just one. These images and personal descriptions were presented to a group of 30 raters, including students and faculty trained in psychology.

Half of the raters judged the personality of the subjects based solely on the tattoo photo, while the other half had both the image and the tattoo’s meaning. Importantly, no rater evaluated the same tattoo in both formats. A standardized personality scale was used to assess traits such as agreeableness and neuroticism.

The researchers utilized a lens model to analyze how visible tattoo traits guide judgments and whether those traits genuinely correlate with personality. Raters considered 18 specific characteristics of tattoos, including size and style, and how “wacky” or serious they seemed.

Generally, there was consistency in how tattoos were judged. Raters found agreement in interpreting various tattoo features, like linking cheerful tattoos to higher agreeableness or large traditional tattoos to extraversion. However, these judgments were often inaccurate. When compared with the participants’ self-descriptions, many connections between tattoo characteristics and personality traits didn’t hold up. The only exception was that those with wacky tattoos showed a modestly greater openness in self-assessments.

Adding descriptions of a tattoo’s meaning didn’t consistently improve judgment accuracy. While it enhanced consensus for traits like neuroticism, it didn’t significantly aid in assessing the true personality of the tattooed individual.

The study’s results illustrated a disconnect between cue validity (the genuine reflection of personality by tattoo traits) and cue utilization (how raters interpret those traits). For most personality dimensions, the traits used by raters bore little resemblance to how the tattooed individuals viewed themselves. For some traits, the connections were even negatively correlated, indicating that judges were not just misestimating but were often entirely off-base.

“We aimed to examine how different aspects of the tattoos guide these judgments,” Chopik mentioned. “Interestingly, people used fewer specific features of the tattoos than anticipated. While some signals, like a wacky design, correlated well, the general guidance was unclear.”

The findings underscore a common tendency to make confident judgments based on tattoos, even if those assumptions often miss the mark. While tattoos can elicit personality assessments, they frequently stem from stereotypes rather than substantive psychological insights.

Again, the exception was with openness. Individuals who were more open tended to have tattoos perceived as quirky or offbeat, supporting earlier findings connecting high openness with unconventional forms of self-expression, including body art.

“There was indeed a consensus on how to judge people based on certain tattoos,” Chopik noted. “People can agree on what those impressions might be, but the accuracy of those judgments is questionable. While tattoos can hint at someone’s openness or artistic side, most judgments don’t reflect reality.”

This study stands out for its structured approach to assessing whether tattoos can truly convey personality traits. Yet, the authors acknowledge some limitations. The analyzed tattoo cues were fairly broad, and they didn’t investigate deeply into why judgments were made. Raters might have relied on instinctive feelings rather than any deliberate rationale.

Also, the controlled nature of the study, where participants assessed isolated tattoo images, contrasts with real-life scenarios. In everyday interactions, tattoos are often viewed alongside other personal cues like clothing and demeanor.

“We’re not entirely certain what influences people’s judgments,” Chopik said. “Even with inaccuracies, they produced consistent evaluations. We may need to explore further the tattoo cues we analyzed. The meanings behind tattoos could also be more impactful in shaping perceptions than we realized.”

The research, “Ink and Identity: Personality perceptions based on tattoos,” involved contributions from Brooke Soulliere, William J. Chopik, Alejandro Carrillo, W. Keith Campbell, Brandon Weiss, and Joshua D. Miller.