Being neurotic might have a surprising benefit to physical health.
The study had 129 people given tests of personality and intelligence.
This personality trait is linked to low levels of interleukin-6, which is often a marker that the immune system is functioning better.
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.
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?”
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.”
The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia (Beck et al., 2023).
Human beings are mostly primed by evolution to be optimistic, but it is not always the best policy.
Exploring the personality traits of criminals, psychopaths, alexithymics, the anxious and the heroic.
These 8 psychology studies explore the traits of criminals, psychopaths, alexithymics, the anxious and the heroic.
Our own personalities are so familiar that we often do not notice how they influence what we think and do.
It is when interacting with someone whose traits are quite different that our own are thrown into contrast.
What makes criminals, psychopaths and the aggressive the way they are?
What about the successful, the worried, the heroically selfless and even people who feel nothing at all?
All these personality traits and more are explored in these 8 studies from 2023 on the psychology of personality.
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Why some violent criminals are more likely than others to offend again.
One-in-four children worldwide is maltreated.
Women’s natural assertiveness is revealed online.
There is little evidence that children ‘turn into’ their parents, but parental personalities are central.
One way to deal with less attractive personality traits.
Like most psychological concepts this personality trait exists on a continuum.
These antagonistic personality traits are linked to prejudiced view against gay and trans people.
Kidney donors may incur considerable expense and undergo painful surgery even without knowing the organ’s recipient. Why do they do it?
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These personality traits are linked to a genetic variation that can be detected from a saliva sample.
These personality traits are linked to a genetic variation that can be detected from a saliva sample.
People who are emotionally stable, empathetic and sociable have the happiest marriages, research finds.
Low levels of anxious attachment are also important to relationship satisfaction.
In contrast, people high in anxious attachment are ‘needy’ and worry that their partners do not care for them.
High levels of attachment anxiety are also linked to a fear of abandonment.
So, low levels of anxious attachment are preferable in a partner.
All these personality traits are linked to a genetic variation that can be detected from a saliva sample, new research has found.
The genetic variation affects a neurotransmitter called oxytocin.
Oxytocin — sometimes known as the ‘love hormone’ — is important in social bonding.
Researchers found that when one partner in a marriage had this genetic variation linked to oxytocin, both reported greater marital satisfaction and feelings of security.
The conclusions come from a study of 178 married couples aged 37 to 90.
All were asked about their marital satisfaction and had their genotype analysed from a saliva sample.
The results revealed that those with a genetic variation known as the ‘GG genotype’ had higher marital satisfaction.
Dr Joan Monin, the study’s first author, said:
“This study shows that how we feel in our close relationships is influenced by more than just our shared experiences with our partners over time.
In marriage, people are also influenced by their own and their partner’s genetic predispositions.”
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Monin et al., 2019).
The conclusion comes from 21,000 Swedish twins who completed personality tests.
The conclusion comes from 21,000 Swedish twins who completed personality tests.
Negative emotionality is the strongest risk factor for depression among personality traits, research finds.
Negative emotionality is essentially being highly neurotic and involves finding it hard to deal with stress and experiencing a lot of negative emotions and mood swings.
People who are neurotic are more likely to experience negative emotions like fear, jealousy, guilt, worry and envy.
Some neurotic people can be quite shy and self-conscious.
The good news is that a depressive personality can be changed, contrary to what many people think.
The study’s authors write:
“…personality is at least somewhat malleable, especially in youth, but may forecast the onset of depression years in advance, which makes traits a potentially attractive means of identifying individuals at risk and informing selection of interventions.”
In addition, other aspects of personality can protect against the disadvantages of negative emotionality.
Being high in conscientiousness and an extravert together has a protective effect on people who are highly neurotic.
The conclusion comes from two studies — one looked at around 21,000 Swedish twins who completed personality tests.
They were followed up over 25 years later and asked about any experience of depression.
The results revealed that negative emotionality was key and that genetic factors were important in the development of depression.
Professor Kenneth S. Kendler, who led the study, said:
“The personality trait of neuroticism – perhaps better understood as “negative emotionality” is a strong risk factor of major depression.
Our study shows that this occurs largely because levels of neuroticism are an index of the genetic liability to depression.”
The second study reviewed many other studies on the link between personality and depression.
It also found that neuroticism or negative emotionality is strongly linked to depression.
The authors conclude that:
“Current evidence suggests that depression is linked to traits such as neuroticism/negative emotionality, extraversion/positive emotionality, and conscientiousness.
Moreover, personality characteristics appear to contribute to the onset and course of depression through a variety of pathways.”
Although links are sometimes found between depression and being introverted, as well as being low on conscientiousness, it is neuroticism that has the greatest link to depression.
The studies were was published in the journals Annual Review of Clinical Psychology and Archives of General Psychiatry (Klein et al., 2011; Kendler et al., 2006).
The considerable advantages of being an extravert — especially in the work environment.
The considerable advantages of being an extravert — especially in the work environment.
Extraverts typically seek out new experiences, prefer to take charge and are outgoing and talkative.
Introverts, meanwhile tend to be emotionally reserved, quiet and harder to get to know.
A review of the research finds that extraverts tend to enjoy a variety of advantages in the workplace.
Extraverts tend to have better social skills, they feel more positive emotions and are more motivated.
Positive emotions are important as happier people tend to work harder and are seen as better leaders.
Better social skills are linked to persuasion, which is also a key leadership skill.
On top of these advantages, extraverts tend to perform better at work.
This benefit probably springs from their personalities, said Dr Michael Wilmot, the study’s first author:
“If you’re motivated to achieve a goal at work, if you’re feeling positive and you’re good at dealing with people, you’re probably going to perform better on the job.
These advantages appear to have a cumulative effect over the span of one’s career.”
However, introverts should not be dismayed, as they have different skills which are sought after in certain occupations.
In addition, most people are ‘ambiverts’, with a mix of extraverted and introverted traits.
Dr Wilmot said:
“You might be more introverted, but if you’re intelligent, work hard and bring other things to the table, you’re probably going to do well.
At the same time, if you’re more extroverted, but lack the cognitive ability or work ethic, you’re probably not going to be as successful.”
The results come from a review of 91 separate studies conducted around the world on the link between extraversion and work-related factors.
The studies looked at things like work-life balance, motivation, performance and emotional well-being.
The results showed that extraversion was beneficial for 90 percent of the outcomes they examined.
The study was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Wilmot et al., 2019).
Many of us will change much more than we imagine over the coming decades.
Many of us will change much more than we imagine over the coming decades.
As they get older, many people become more emotionally stable, more agreeable and more conscientious, research finds.
Emotional stability is linked to fewer mental health problems, agreeableness is linked to being considerate and kind while conscientious people are more reliable.
The stereotype of the grumpy senior is totally misplaced, where personality is concerned.
The conclusions come from a study of how personality changes over 50 years.
The results showed that while personality is reasonably stable over a lifetime, it can also change.
Dr Rodica Damian, the study’s first author, said:
“The rankings (of personality traits) remain fairly consistent. People who are more conscientious than others their age at 16 are likely to be more conscientious than others at 66.
But, on average, everyone becomes more conscientious, more emotionally stable, and more agreeable.”
The study included data from 1,795 people who were followed for 50 years from the age of 16 to 66.
Somewhere approaching half of the participants saw changes in their personality over the five decades.
Some people changed more than others, while a few saw negative shifts in their personality.
The researchers conclude:
“Our findings suggest that personality has a stable component across the lifespan, both at the trait level and at the profile level, and that personality is also malleable and people mature as they age.”
Not all psychologists are convinced, though, that personality is even as stable as that.
One study of personality and aging tracked people over 63 years to see if their personality had changed.
The surprise result — well, it’s a surprise to me at any rate — is that there was no relationship whatsoever between people’s personality at age 14 and at age 77.
It was as if the second set of tests — administered 63 years later — had been given to a totally different person.
Perhaps, then, many of us will change much more than we imagine over the coming decades.
→ Read on: How to change your personality
The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Damian et al., 2018).
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