The Maverick Or The Contrarian: Which Non-Conformist Are You? (M)
Study reveals society’s stereotypes about those who go against the grain.
Category: Personality
This Personality Trait Is A Sign Of Stronger Immune System (M)
The personality trait can be changed over the years.
Imposter Syndrome: The Signs That You Underestimate Yourself (M)
Talking to others about imposterism can help to recalibrate a person’s estimation of their own abilities.
2 Fascinating Signs Of A Stronger Immune System
These two personality traits are linked to having a stronger immune system.
These two personality traits are linked to having a stronger immune system.
People with a positive and uninhibited personality tend to have a stronger immune system, research finds.
People with stable emotions, who are extraverted and outgoing also tend to have lower activation of their immune system, suggesting it is more healthy.
People who are extraverted tend to be focused on the world around them and are most happy when surrounded by people and when active.
Two signs that a person has a positive and outgoing personality are strongly disagreeing with both the following statements:
- “I often find myself worrying about something.”
- “I would rather keep people at a distance.”
The conclusions come partly from a study which found that people who are extraverted and have stable emotions are at lower risk of dying from peripheral artery disease.
In contrast, at the other end of the spectrum, a negative, inhibited personality is linked to a weaker immune system.
This type of negative personality is sometimes known as ‘type D’, where D stands for distressed.
The study’s authors explain:
“Preliminary evidence suggests that personality traits such as hostility may also be associated with the severity and progression of atherosclerosis [plaque buildup] in patients with PAD.
Another potential individual risk factor in this context is the distressed personality type (type D).
Type D refers to the joint tendency to experience negative emotions and to inhibit self-expression in social interaction.”
The researchers tracked 184 patients with peripheral artery disease.
The results showed that people with a type D personality were at higher risk of dying.
A type D personality refers to people who are neurotic and introverted.
One of the reasons for the link may be, the authors write:
“…inadequate self-management of chronic disease is a potential behavioral mechanism that may explain the relation between type D personality and poor prognosis in cardiovascular disease.”
The study was published in the journal The Archives of Surgery (Aquarius et al., 2009).
Are You A Worrier? Study Reveals An Unexpected Upside Of Being Neurotic (M)
Being neurotic might have a surprising benefit to physical health.
The Personality Trait That Indicates High Intelligence (M)
The study had 129 people given tests of personality and intelligence.
The Personality Trait Linked To A Stronger Immune System (M)
This personality trait is linked to low levels of interleukin-6, which is often a marker that the immune system is functioning better.
2 Personality Traits That Protect Against Dementia (M)
Some people who have quite extensive damage to their brains from dementia can continue to function well, perhaps because of these personality traits.
Some people who have quite extensive damage to their brains from dementia can continue to function well, perhaps because of these personality traits.
People who score highly on the personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia, a study finds.
However, those who are neurotic are at an increased risk of a dementia diagnosis.
Experiencing more negative emotions was also linked by the research to a higher risk of dementia, while positive emotions lowered the risk.
The theory is that personality and the emotions make people more or less resilient against dementia by influencing behaviour.
Signs of pathology
The conclusions come from a review of 8 separate studies including over 44,000 people.
The study looked at markers of neurodegeneration in the brain, explained Dr Eileen Graham, study co-author:
“We’ve seen in previous research that if someone is higher in neuroticism, they have higher odds of being clinically diagnosed with dementia, whereas those higher in conscientiousness have lower odds of developing dementia.
However, those clinical diagnoses are typically based on assessments of cognition.
We wondered how personality traits might be related to clinically diagnosed dementia compared to dementia based on neuropathology markers assessed at autopsy.”
They found that while personality was linked to dementia risk, it was not explained by any signs of pathology in the brain.
Dr Emorie Beck, the study’s first author, said:
“This was the most surprising finding to us.
If personality is predictive of performance on cognitive tests but not pathology, what might be happening?”
Withstanding dementia
A probable explanation is that some personality traits help people withstand the onset of dementia better than others.
For example, conscientious people are more likely to take care of their health, including eating well.
Perhaps the higher sociability of extraverted people also helps protect them against dementia.
Some people who have quite extensive damage to their brains from dementia may continue to function well because of these personality traits.
It may be possible to target personality traits to reduce dementia risk, said Dr Graham:
“Neuroticism is related to dementia decline, and people with neuroticism are more prone to anxiousness, moodiness and worry whereas conscientious people are more likely to exercise, make and go to preventive health appointments and drink less.
So maybe that’s where an intervention might be useful to improve someone’s health behaviors for better health outcomes.”
No other factors, including gender, age or education explained the link between dementia risk and personality, said Dr Beck:
“We found almost no evidence for effects, except that conscientiousness’s protective effect increased with age.”
Related
- Anxiety is linked to the faster onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Activities such as chess, crosswords and using a computer are some of the best for reducing the risk of dementia.
- Increases in neuroticism may help to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s.
The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia (Beck et al., 2023).
2 Personality Traits That Are Linked To Dementia Risk
People high in one trait are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia.
People high in one trait are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia.
Self-disciplined and highly organised people are at a reduced risk of dementia.
These are both aspects of conscientiousness, one of the five major aspects of personality.
Conscientious people tend to be goal-directed and hard-working as well as responsible and organised.
People who are high in conscientiousness are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia, researchers have found.
In contrast, being emotionally unstable is linked to an increased risk of dementia.
Known as neuroticism, the personality trait is linked to anxiety and depression as well as a greater experience of negative emotions.
Dr Tomiko Yoneda, the study’s first author, said:
“Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, which may cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns across the lifespan.
The accumulation of lifelong experiences may then contribute to susceptibility of particular diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or contribute to individual differences in the ability to withstand age-related neurological changes.”
The study involved almost 2,000 people enrolled in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a long-term study tracking older adults in Illinois.
The results showed that higher conscientiousness was linked to a lower risk of dementia and higher neuroticism was linked to an increased risk of dementia.
Dr Yoneda explained:
“Scoring approximately six more points on a conscientiousness scale ranging 0 to 48 was associated with a 22% decreased risk of transitioning from normal cognitive functioning to mild cognitive impairment.
Additionally, scoring approximately seven more points on a neuroticism scale of 0 to 48 was associated with a 12% increased risk of transition.”
Eighty-year-olds high in conscientiousness were likely to live around two years longer without cognitive impairment.
They were also more likely to recover to normal cognition after receiving a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
High neuroticism, though, was linked to a year less living without cognitive impairment.
The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Yoneda et al., 2022).
What Being Realistic Or Pessimistic Reveals About Your Intelligence (M)
Human beings are mostly primed by evolution to be optimistic, but it is not always the best policy.
