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In a nutshell
- People consistently judge tattooed individuals’ personalities based on their ink, but these judgments are wrong most of the time
- The only personality trait observers could somewhat accurately identify was “openness to experience,” especially for people with quirky or unconventional tattoos
- Even when people know the personal meaning behind someone’s tattoo, they still rely on visual stereotypes to form personality judgments
LANSING, Mich. — Ever wonder what strangers think when they see your tattoo? A new study reveals that people make snap judgments about your personality based on one’s ink, and they’re getting it wrong almost every time.
Researchers from Michigan State University set out to answer a question that’s become increasingly relevant as tattoos have gone mainstream: Do people actually judge others based on what their ink looks like, and are those judgments accurate? With nearly a third of American adults sporting at least one tattoo, these findings reveal how widespread misconceptions about inked people really are.
The results are both fascinating and unsettling. While people consistently make personality judgments about tattooed individuals based on the content, style, and appearance of their skin art, these assessments are largely inaccurate. The study found that observers agreed with each other about what personalities they thought certain tattoos represented; but when compared to how the people actually described themselves, the judges were wrong most of the time.
How Researchers Tested Tattoo Judgments
The research team recruited 274 adults with tattoos from the local community and tattoo parlors. Participants ranged from 18 to 70 years old, with an average age of about 25. The group was predominantly women (71%) and White (77%).
Each participant completed detailed personality questionnaires measuring the “Big Five” personality traits. These five traits — agreeableness (how cooperative and trusting someone is), conscientiousness (how organized and responsible they are), extraversion (how outgoing and social they are), neuroticism (how anxious or emotionally unstable they are), and openness to experience (how creative and curious they are) — are considered the fundamental building blocks of personality by psychologists.
Participants also had their ink photographed and provided written descriptions of what they meant to them. Thirty expert raters, consisting of undergraduate students, doctoral students, and professors with psychology backgrounds, were then shown the photos. Half of the raters saw only the photos, while the other half saw the images accompanied by the tattooed person’s written explanations. The raters evaluated what they thought each person’s personality was like based solely on their ink.
Most Personality Judgments Were Wrong
Judges showed remarkable consistency in their personality assessments: they tended to agree with each other about what kinds of personalities went with certain tattoos. For instance, people with artwork featuring life imagery or comforting themes were consistently rated as more agreeable, while those with larger tattoos were seen as more extroverted.
But when researchers compared these judgments to the actual personality test results, accuracy was disappointingly low. For most personality traits, the judges’ assessments bore little resemblance to reality. The study’s authors noted: “Although there was consensus about the personalities of people who had a particular tattoo (i.e., judges agreed in their perceptions of people with tattoos), these judgments were largely inaccurate, with a few exceptions. Specifically, judgments of openness to experience (based solely on tattoos) were modestly accurate and attributable to how ‘wacky’ the tattoo was.”
That lone exception — openness to experience — makes intuitive sense. People who scored high on this trait, which measures creativity and willingness to try new things, were indeed more likely to have unconventional, humorous, or abstract artwork. As the researchers explained, people high in openness “may be more likely to eschew convention in favor of diverse types of tattoos that are unlikely to signal conformity.”
Tattoo Stereotypes Don’t Match Reality
The study revealed specific patterns in how people misjudge tattooed individuals. Observers assumed that people with high-quality artwork were more conscientious, those with larger tattoos were more extroverted, and individuals with death-related imagery were more neurotic and less agreeable. These assumptions might seem logical; after all, wouldn’t someone who invested in a high-quality tattoo from a skilled artist demonstrate conscientiousness and attention to detail?
But the research showed these logical-seeming connections don’t hold up in reality. Even providing written explanations from tattooed people about their ink’s significance didn’t significantly improve judgment accuracy. People still relied heavily on visual stereotypes when forming personality impressions, regardless of the personal meaning behind the ink.
This study exposes a fundamental flaw in how we perceive others: We consistently think we can read personalities from external cues like tattoos, but we’re usually wrong. In a world where first impressions matter and visual cues drive snap judgments, perhaps it’s time to question whether that skull tattoo really indicates antisocial tendencies, or if that delicate floral design truly reflects a gentle personality. Our assumptions about ink and identity are just that: assumptions, not accurate insights. And we all know what they say about those who assume.
Paper Summary
Methodology
Researchers recruited 274 tattooed adults who completed personality questionnaires and had their tattoos photographed. Thirty psychology-trained raters then viewed these tattoo photos (with half also receiving written descriptions of the tattoos’ meanings) and rated what they believed each person’s personality was like based solely on the tattoos. The raters also evaluated specific tattoo characteristics like size, style, and content to understand which visual cues influenced their judgments.
Results
Judges showed strong consensus in their personality assessments of tattooed individuals but were largely inaccurate when compared to the actual personality test results. The only exception was modest accuracy in judging “openness to experience,” particularly for people with “wacky” rather than serious tattoos. Specific visual cues like tattoo size, quality, and imagery content influenced judges’ personality ratings, but these cues rarely corresponded to the tattooed individuals’ actual personalities.
Limitations
The study used a relatively constrained laboratory setting that may not reflect real-world judgment scenarios. The sample was predominantly young, white, and female, limiting generalizability. The research focused only on broad personality traits and didn’t examine other factors that might influence tattoo-based judgments, such as the judge’s own characteristics or the social context of the interaction.
Funding and Disclosures
The authors declared no funding was received for this research and reported no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work.
Publication Information
“Ink and Identity: Personality perceptions based on tattoos,” by Brooke Soulliere, William J. Chopik, Alejandro Carrillo, W.Keith Campbell, Brandon Weiss, and Joshua D. Miller, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 117 (August 2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2025.104629
Marking oneself with ink shows a lack of judgement and self respect. It is viewed by a large number of people as a built-in character flaw. It also severely mars natural beauty in women.