Personality - PsyBlog

3 Personality Traits Associated With Infidelity

Up to 50% of people admit cheating on their partner.

People who are low on conscientiousness are more likely to cheat on their partner, research finds.

People who are not conscientious are careless, badly organised and find it hard to resist temptation.

People who are more extraverted are also more likely to cheat on their partner, the researchers found.

It is probably because extraverted people have a wider social circle and so more opportunities to cheat.

Also, extraverts are impulsive, sensation-seekers who can easily succumb to their desires.

The conclusions come from a survey of 208 people, who were asked about their relationships and whether they had cheated.

Up to 50% of people admit cheating on their partner, the authors write:

“Early studies reported that by the age of 40, 50% of all married men and more than 25% of all married women have engaged in extramarital sexual behavior.
Three decades later, an estimated 50% of men continued to engage in sexual and/or emotional extramarital relations while 40% of women engaged in similar relationships.”

The results of the study revealed that cheaters tend to be low in conscientiousness, extraverted and open to experience.

Extraverts tend to seek out stimulation, the authors write:

“Extroverts may be inclined to cheat to obtain stimulation and prevent boredom.
Extroversion may also facilitate less investment in the relationship when those with this trait seek out others for stimulation, thereby decreasing commitment and resulting in cheating behaviours.”

The third personality trait associated with infidelity is openness to experience.

Openness to experience is linked to intellect and creativity.

The authors explain:

“…cheaters may perceive themselves as having stronger intellect and stronger creativity compared to that of their partners, leading them to seek out partners that may be a better, that is, similar, match.”

The study was published in the journal Current Psychology (Orzeck & Lung, 2005).

2 Personality Traits Linked To A Stronger Immune System

Certain personality traits influence the body’s immune system response.

People with more stable emotions have stronger immune systems, research finds.

People who are emotionally stable usually find it easier to control their urges and are mostly unselfconscious.

Emotional stability is linked to being better at dealing with stress and minor frustrations.

Neuroticism lies at the opposite end of the spectrum from emotional stability.

People who are neurotic typically experience more negative thinking and tend to have worse mental health.

The study included 84 people whose response to a vaccine for hepatitis B was tested.

The results showed that people who were more neurotic — meaning easily stressed, nervous and moody — tended to have weaker immune system responses.

Those who were more emotional stable had a stronger immune response.

Dr Anna L. Marsland,, the study’s first author, said:

“The present findings support a link between trait negative affect and an objective health measure — antibody response to vaccination — raising the possibility that individuals high in trait negative affect or neuroticism may have less protective immune responses.”

In a second part of the study, people were given a stressful task to test their immune function.

The results showed that stress tended to lower people’s immune system response — as previous studies have found.

Extroverts

Along with emotional stability, extraversion has also been linked to a stronger immune system, by a genetic analysis.

Extraverts are typically outgoing, talkative and energetic, meaning they tend to interact with more people.

They are, therefore, exposed to more infections.

A stronger immune response may help to protect extraverts against infectious diseases.

Introverts, meanwhile, tend to have a weaker immune response, as do cautious people.

The study included 121 people who were given personality questionnaires, along with genetic tests and general health screening.

The results showed that extraverts had the highest expression of pro-inflammatory genes.

The effect of these genes is to help fight off infections.

Introverts and cautious conscientious people tended to have a lower inflammatory response.

The study was published in the journal Health Psychology (Marsland et al., 2001).

The Personality Trait That Indicates Depression Risk

Around 25% of Americans experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.

Being neurotic is the strongest risk factor for depression and anxiety.

Neuroticism is a tendency to experience negative emotions like fear, guilt, shame, sadness and anger.

People who are neurotic tend to startle easily and can be nervous even when there is nothing to be nervous about, the study showed.

The good news is that a depressive personality can be changed, contrary to what many people think.

Also, being high in conscientiousness and extraversion together has a protective effect on people who are highly neurotic.

Anxiety without threat

The conclusions come from a study of 132 adolescents who were told they would receive mild electric shocks at specific moments.

The results showed that neurotic people were more nervous even when they knew there was no shock coming.

Professor Michelle Craske, the study’s first author, said:

“…these findings suggest that persons with high neuroticism would respond with appropriate fear to actual threatening events, but with additional unnecessary anxiety to surrounding conditions.
This type of responding may explain why neuroticism contributes to the development of pervasive anxiety.”

Professor Craske explained that her goal is to see what separates depression from anxiety and what unites them:

“Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand; we’re trying to learn what factors place adolescents at risk for the development of anxiety and depression, what is common between anxiety and depression, and what is unique to each.
We chose this age group because 16-to-19 is when anxiety and mood disorders tend to surge in prevalence.”

Many of the participants were already experiencing anxiety and depression before the study started, Professor Craske said:

“We assumed most would not be currently anxious or depressed and we would see who develops disorders over time.
We were surprised to see that more than 20 percent had a current or past anxiety disorder, and 30 percent had a current or past mood disorder at the start of the study.”

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The study was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry (Craske et al., 2009).

This Personality Type Often Loses Themselves In Fiction

What happens in the brain when readers strongly identify with fictional characters.

People who enjoy fantasising are most likely to lose themselves in fiction.

Those high in fantasising — or ‘trait identification’, as the researchers call it — experience strong involvement with the feelings and actions of characters in books, plays and movies.

They may feel as though they actually are one of their favourite fictional characters, experiencing their emotions and imagining how it would feel if those events were happening to them.

The more immersed people become in fiction, the more they use the same part of the brain to think about fictional characters as they do to think about themselves.

The study involved 19 fans of the book and TV show ‘Game of Thrones’, who were asked to pick their favourite character.

Their brains were scanned while they thought about themselves, a friend or about a Game of Thrones character.

The results showed that people high in trait identification (fantasising) had greater activation in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, a region involved in thinking about ourselves and close friends.

The area of the brain was particularly active when people thought about the character they identified with the most.

Mr Timothy Broom, the study’s first author, said:

“People who are high in trait identification not only get absorbed into a story, they also are really absorbed into a particular character.
They report matching the thoughts of the character, they are thinking what the character is thinking, they are feeling what the character is feeling.
They are inhabiting the role of that character.”

The findings help explain why fiction can have such a powerful effect on some people.

Dr Dylan Wanger, study co-author, said:

“For some people, fiction is a chance to take on new identities, to see worlds through others’ eyes and return from those experiences changed.
What previous studies have found is that when people experience stories as if they were one of the characters, a connection is made with that character, and the character becomes entwined with the self.
In our study, we see evidence of that in their brains.”

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The study was published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (Broom et al., 2021).

The Personality Trait Linked To A Very Long Life

The trait can increase the odds of reaching 85-years-old by up to 70 percent.

The personality trait of optimism is linked to a very longer life.

People who are optimistic are more likely to live an exceptionally long life.

Being optimistic — a trait that can be boosted — can increase the odds of reaching 85-years-old by up to 70 percent.

Optimistic people tend to expect positive outcomes in the future.

Critically, optimists believe they can control their lives and make improvements.

Optimists tend to lead healthier lives and are also better at regulating their emotions.

They are less likely to smoke, have better body mass indexes and are more physically active.

Dr Lewina Lee, the study’s first author, said:

“While research has identified many risk factors for diseases and premature death, we know relatively less about positive psychosocial factors that can promote healthy aging.
This study has strong public health relevance because it suggests that optimism is one such psychosocial asset that has the potential to extend the human lifespan.
Interestingly, optimism may be modifiable using relatively simple techniques or therapies.”

The study included 71,173 people whose optimism and overall health was tracked.

The group were tracked for up to three decades.

The results showed that the most optimistic people lived up to 15 percent longer, with a 50-70 percent higher chance of reaching 85-years-old than the least optimistic people.

One of the reasons optimists live longer could be a healthier lifestyle, along with dealing with stress more effectively, said Dr Laura Kubzansky, study co-author:

“Other research suggests that more optimistic people may be able to regulate emotions and behavior as well as bounce back from stressors and difficulties more effectively.”

Increase your optimism

Exercises such as visualising your ‘best possible self‘ have been shown to increase optimism.

Visualising your best possible self may sound like an exercise in fantasy but, crucially, it does have to be realistic.

Carrying out this exercise typically involves imagining your life in the future, but a future where everything that could go well, has gone well.

You have reached those realistic goals that you have set for yourself.

Then, to help cement your visualisation, you commit your best possible self to paper.

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The study was published in the journal PNAS (Lee et al., 2019).

Are Introverts Really Better Listeners Than Extraverts? (M)

Many believe introverts are naturally better listeners. Four studies suggest the truth is more complicated.

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Scientists Compared People’s Exes And Discovered A Fascinating Pattern

A study of relationships uncovered a hidden pattern that keeps showing up in people’s romantic lives.

People tend to look for the same personality type in a partner over-and-over again.

One of the main things people look for is a similar personality to themselves.

So, extraverts prefer other extraverts, agreeable people prefer other agreeable people, and so on.

However, it is more than that: there is also a lot of similarity between a person’s ex-partners.

One advantage of repeatedly dating similar people is learning how to navigate a particular personality type.

Ms Yoobin Park, the study’s first author, said:

“In every relationship, people learn strategies for working with their partner’s personality.
If your new partner’s personality resembles your ex-partner’s personality, transferring the skills you learned might be an effective way to start a new relationship on a good footing.”

People have a ‘type’

The conclusions come from a study of 332 people.

Researchers compared the personalities of participants’ current partners with those of their former partners.

They were asked how much they agreed with statements like:

“I am usually modest and reserved.”
“I am interested in many different kinds of things.”
“I make plans and carry them out.”

The results showed that people tend to have a ‘type’, said Ms Park:

“It’s common that when a relationship ends, people attribute the breakup to their ex-partner’s personality and decide they need to date a different type of person.
Our research suggests there’s a strong tendency to nevertheless continue to date a similar personality.
The effect is more than just a tendency to date someone similar to yourself.
The degree of consistency from one relationship to the next suggests that people may indeed have a ‘type’.
And though our data do not make clear why people’s partners exhibit similar personalities, it is noteworthy that we found partner similarity above and beyond similarity to oneself.”

In some circumstances, though, sticking to the same personality type all the time can be damaging, said Ms Park:

“So, if you find you’re having the same issues in relationship after relationship, you may want to think about how gravitating toward the same personality traits in a partner is contributing to the consistency in your problems.”

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Park & MacDonald, 2019).

The Personality Trait Linked To Good Mental Health

Personality, though, changes how people interpret and deal with the things that happen to them.

People who are extraverted are less likely to suffer mental health problems, personality research finds.

Extraverts are typically outgoing, talkative and energetic and they tend to have more positive emotions.

However, people who are aggressive and neurotic — a tendency to worry and be emotionally unstable — are at higher risk of mental health problems.

Neuroticism is characterised by negative thinking in a range of areas.

Neurotic people are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, as well as drinking and drug problems.

Neuroticism, like other aspects of personality, is highly heritable — in other words, it is in a person’s genes.

However, neuroticism can be reduced by psychotherapy.

Neurotic people can learn to think differently, use their neuroticism creatively and perhaps reduce their neuroticism by falling in love.

Tracked for three decades

These conclusions are based on almost 600 participants in Switzerland.

They were regularly interviewed from around age 19 in 1979 until they reached their fifties in 2008.

The researchers asked about their families, mental health, personality, drug-related problems and major life events such as relationship break-ups and job losses.

People who are aggressive, neurotic and introverted are particularly at risk, the study’s authors write:

“…persons scoring high on aggressiveness and neuroticism and low on extraversion had an approximately 6 times increased risk for internalising disorder [like depression and anxiety] compared to persons scoring low on aggressiveness and neuroticism and high on extraversion.”

Of course, personality is only one factor that affects whether a person might experience a mental health problem.

Some people’s lives are much more difficult than others.

The researchers found that people who experienced job losses and relationship break-ups were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

Personality, though, changes how people interpret and deal with the things that happen to them.

The study’s authors conclude:

“Our findings stress the fundamental role of personality, mainly neuroticism, for the occurrence, persistence and severity of psychopathology.”

The study was published in the journal European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (Hengartner et al., 2017).

Perfectionism Is Related To Higher Depression Risk — But It Can Be Reduced

How to reduce the damage done by this depressive personality trait.

The personality trait of perfectionism is linked to higher depression risk, a review of ten different studies finds.

Perfectionists are often worried about making mistakes and tend to be highly self-critical.

Feeling societal pressure to perform to a high standard, they often believe others are continually judging them.

When perfectionists fail to meet their lofty standards, they tend to get depressed.

Practising self-acceptance or self-compassion is one of the best ways of dealing with perfectionistic tendencies.

Neuroticism + perfectionism

The conclusions come from analysing the results of 10 separate studies including 1,758 people.

The results showed that neuroticism, or ‘negative emotionality’, is the personality trait most strongly linked to depression.

However, being a perfectionist is associated with an additional risk.

The authors explain their results:

“In our meta-analysis of 10 longitudinal studies composed of undergraduate, community member, psychiatric patient, outpatient and medical student samples, neuroticism was the strongest predictor of change in depressive symptoms.
Even so, all seven perfectionism dimensions still predicted change in depressive symptoms beyond neuroticism.”

The weight of social pressure

One aspect of perfectionism is feeling societal pressure.

The authors write:

“…socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, self-criticism, and perfectionistic attitudes add incrementally to understanding change in depressive symptoms beyond neuroticism.”

Perfectionism is problematic because high standards are so hard to reach consistently.

The authors write:

“…people high in perfectionistic concerns appear to think, feel and behave in ways that have depressogenic consequences [causing depression].
Such people believe others hold lofty expectations for them, and often feel incapable of living up to the perfection they perceive others demand.
They may agonize about perceived failures and have doubts about performance abilities because they experience their social world as judgmental, pressure-filled and unyielding.”

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The study was published in the European Journal of Personality (Smith et al., 2016).

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The drive to be perfect is rising. So is the damage it causes. Find out what research says — and how to break free.

Perfectionism involves being highly self-critical, constantly striving to meet the standards set by others — typically parents or mentors — and doubting whether one's own efforts are ever good enough.

Unfortunately, striving to appear flawless and achieve perfection in everything can damage both mental and physical health.

Despite having higher IQs, perfectionists can suffer psychologically and physically because they are under continuous stress.

These 11 studies explore how the relentless pursuit of impossible standards often masks deep-seated anxieties -- and how perfectionists can cope with them.

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