Published in the 'Journal of Research in Personality,' the study was conducted by researchers at Washington State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Around 100 undergraduates were asked to rate the Instagram profiles of 30 study volunteers, where the volunteers granted researchers access to their 30 most recent posts.
The posts were divided into three categories; "Posies", "Selfies", and "Something else." These categories therefore informed the factors affecting the ratings, and these factors were levels of self-absorption, extroversion, success and self-esteem.
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Researchers found that those who posted "posies" rather than "selfies" scored more positively. "Even when two feeds had similar content, such as depictions of achievement or travel, feelings about the person who posted selfies were negative and feelings about the person who posted posies were positive," a WSU professor told Insider.
Researchers suggest that the reason for this may be that "posies" may come across as less staged and therefore more appealing.
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Compiled by Afika Jadezweni
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