Perceived source of anabolic-androgenic steroids and the construal of users’ personality

ABSTRACT

Users obtain anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) from various sources and it is unclear if observers’ perception of these sources has an effect on their construal of users’ personality. We investigated the influence of observers’ perceived source of AAS on their construal of users’ personality. A total of 283 individuals (209 females; mean age = 26.84 years) recruited online were randomized to three independent experimental scenarios or vignettes differing only in the source of AAS used by the protagonist: the Internet (n = 91), trainer/coach (n = 91), and physician/doctor (n = 101). Participants in all three conditions rated their protagonist on the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicated no significant between-group differences on personality ratings of the protagonists. It is evident that observers’ perceived source of AAS does not influence their construal of users’ personality.

KEYWORDS:

• Anabolic-androgenic steroids
• personality
• social image
• social perception