Personality Characteristics of Wikipedia Members
Publication: CyberPsychology & Behavior
Volume 11, Issue Number 6
Abstract
Wikipedia is an online, free access, volunteer-contributed encyclopedia. This article focuses on the Wikipedians' (Wikipedia users) personality characteristics, studying Wikipedians' conceptions of Real-Me and BFI dimensions. To survey these aspects, we posted links to two online web questionnaires; one was targeted at Wikipedians and the second to non-Wikipedia users. One hundred and thirty-nine subjects participated in the study, of which 69 were active Wikipedia members. It was found that Wikipedia members locate their real me on the Internet more frequently as compared to non-Wikipedia members. Variance analysis revealed significant differences between Wikipedia members and non-Wikipedia members in agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness, which were lower for the Wikipedia members. An interaction was found between Wikipedia membership and gender: introverted women were more likely to be Wikipedia members as compared with extroverted women. The results of this study are discussed with special emphasis on the understanding of the motivators of Wikipedia members.
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Published In
CyberPsychology & Behavior
Volume 11 • Issue Number 6 • December 2008
Pages: 679 - 681
PubMed: 18954273
Copyright
© 2008 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
History
Published online: 11 December 2008
Published in print: December 2008
Published ahead of print: 28 October 2008
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