Political news is frequently found by studies to be a major stressor in people’s lives.
Around 25% of Americans experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
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, research finds.
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 an extravert together has a protective effect on people who are highly neurotic.
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.”
The study was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry (Craske et al., 2009).
These antagonistic personality traits are linked to prejudiced view against gay and trans people.
14.5 million pairs of twins reveal the root cause of your personality, intelligence, propensity for mental illness and health.
There are two types of extroverts, each with distinct brain anatomies.
There are two types of extroverts, each with distinct brain anatomies.
There are two different types of extroverts — ‘agentic’ and ‘affiliative’ — each with distinct brain structures, research finds.
Agentic extroverts are ‘go-getters’: the kind of outgoing people who are persistent, assertive and focused on achievement.
The other kind of extroverts have a softer side.
Affiliative extroverts tend to be more affectionate, friendly and sociable.
Both types of extroverts share distinct brain anatomy as well as displaying distinct differences, the new research finds.
Dr Tara White, the study’s first author, said that extroverts in general are keen to share:
“These are people just sharing with you how they tend to experience the world and what’s important to them.
The fact that that’s validated in the brain is really exciting. There’s a deep reality there.
This is the first glimpse of a benchmark of what the healthy adult brain looks like with these traits.”
For the study, researchers scanned the brains of 83 people to look for similarities and differences in key areas of the brain.
They found that both types of extroverts had more gray matter in the medial orbitofrontal cortex.
This area of the brain has been linked to making decisions based on rewards.
Agentic extroverts, though, had larger volumes in some other areas as well.
These were related to learning and memory for reward, cognitive control of behaviours and planning and execution.
The study can’t tell us whether these areas are the cause of the personality differences or the result of them, or perhaps some combination of the two.
The study’s authors concluded:
“[The] findings provide a developmental benchmark from which to better understand the etiology of problems in agentic extroversion and affiliative extroversion, such as can occur in normal aging and neurodegenerative disease.”
The study is published in the journal Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience (Grodin & White, 2015).
Despite major social changes in the last fifty years, some old-fashioned differences still exist between the sexes.
Despite major social changes in the last fifty years, some old-fashioned differences still exist between the sexes.
Intelligence and friendliness are the two traits seen as most attractive by both men and women in a potential romantic partner, research finds.
Despite major social changes in the last fifty years, some old-fashioned differences still exist between the sexes.
Men tend to care more about women’s appearance and go for younger women.
Women, meanwhile, have a tendency to focus more on security and financial prospects.
The conclusions come from a study of 14,399 heterosexual people from 45 different countries.
Broadly, these tendencies have not changed in the last forty years, the researchers find.
Women place more importance on men’s intelligence and good health, while men are more focused on appearance.
Women still prefer older partners, with the average age difference between men and women being around 2-3 years.
However, in cultures with more gender equality, partners tend to be closer in age.
The study has been criticised on social media, explains Professor Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, study co-author:
“One criticism of the findings that was quickly posted on social media was that there’s extreme overlap between the sexes in their partner preferences.
Some thought this should have been better communicated in the article.
But the criticism is unfair in this context, and not something that was undervalued.
The research identifies similarities, overlaps and differences.”
As with many psychology studies, the researchers are focused on average differences across many people.
Individuals, though, display incredible variety.
In other words, many men and women will have similar goals in dating while some women do focus more on appearance and some men focus more on money and security.
Professor Mons Bendixen, study co-author, said:
“The point of the article is to see if the gender differences observed in earlier cross-cultural studies were reproducible.
To a great extent, they are.”
One theory for why men focus on looks and women on security comes from evolutionary psychology.
Evolutionary psychology is a branch of psychology that attempts to explain mental traits as adaptations or products of natural selection.
According to the theory, women have more to lose from a relationship: they are left holding the baby.
Hence, their focus on security and age (older men tend to be richer).
Men, though, search for genetic fitness in their offspring.
They, or at least their genes, want to reproduce themselves in the fittest way possible.
Younger and more attractive women are more likely to produce healthy and genetically fit children.
Hence, men’s focus on looks.
It is highly debatable whether or not the explanation provided by evolutionary psychology is really true.
Certainly, its principles are not fashionable right now — not that fashion is any guide to truth.
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science (Walter et al., 2020).
The personality trait is usually seen as a positive one and at low levels even necessary.
The personality trait is usually seen as a positive one and at low levels even necessary.
Perfectionism is a bigger risk factor in suicide than is often thought, according to research.
Perfectionism involves being highly self-critical, constantly striving to meet the standards of others (typically parents or mentors) and being unsure about the efficacy of one’s own actions.
While a certain amount of perfectionism is adaptive and necessary, when it becomes an obsession, it can lead to a vicious cycle.
People in professions which have a strong emphasis on perfectionism — like lawyers, architects and physicians — are at a higher risk of suicide.
Professor Gordon Flett of York University, who co-authored the study, said:
“Perfectionism is the need to be – or to appear – perfect.
Perfectionists are persistent, detailed and organized high achievers.
Perfectionists vary in their behaviors: some strive to conceal their imperfections; others attempt to project an image of perfection.
But all perfectionists have in common extremely high standards for themselves or for others.”
It’s not hard to see how setting impossibly high standards for yourself would sometimes lead to negative feelings when these standards are not met.
Professor Flett continued:
“We summarize data showing consistent links between perfectionism and hopelessness and discuss the need for an individualized approach that recognizes the heightened risk for perfectionists.”
The research finds that people who feel strong social pressure to be perfect are at increased risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts (Flett et al., 2014).
At the same time, perfectionists are adept at hiding these feelings from others — after all, it would contradict their perfectionist persona to admit to suicidal thoughts.
Perfectionists like to maintain a mask of cool invulnerability to others, while inside their thoughts and emotions are anything but calm.
Professor Flett continued:
“They also tend to experience hopelessness, psychological pain, life stress, overgeneralization, and a form of emotional perfectionism that restricts the willingness to disclose suicidal urges and intentions.”
Ironically, if they decide to commit suicide, their perfectionism can lead to very thorough and precise plans for suicide.
Professor Flett gives these tell-tale signs of perfectionism:
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The trait is particularly important for general knowledge because it makes people more curious and motivates them to learn new things.
The trait is particularly important for general knowledge because it makes people more curious and motivates them to learn new things.
People who are open to new experiences tend to be more intelligent, psychological research finds.
Being open to experience means taking an interest in things that are new, complex and even unconventional.
They are often drawn to novel and complex ideas, and are willing to consider different perspectives.
They tend to be less bound by tradition and more accepting of change.
In contrast, people who are low in openness to experience tend to be more conventional, prefer familiar experiences, and are more resistant to change.
Openness to experience is particularly important for general knowledge because it makes people more curious and motivates them to learn new things.
Openness to experience is one of the five major aspects of personality, which also includes neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness.
Being open, imaginative and sensitive to emotions, though, has the strongest link to a higher IQ.
The reason may be that being intelligent makes people more curious about the world.
This ‘cognitive hunger’ drives people to discover more about the world around them.
Cognitive hunger can be described as a “hunger” for mental stimulation, the drive to learn and understand new things, and the need to be mentally engaged.
This drive to learn and understand can manifest in a variety of ways, including reading, traveling, taking classes, and engaging in other activities that provide intellectual stimulation.
Being able to appreciate beauty and being curious are very strongly linked to a higher IQ.
The conclusions come from a study of around 500 people who completed personality and IQ tests.
The results showed that the strongest associations were seen between openness to experience and crystallised intelligence.
Openness has a number of facets of its own, the study’s authors explain:
“The Openness to Experience construct involves the tendency to fantasize (Fantasy), aesthetic sensitivity (Aesthetics), awareness of one’s emotions (Feelings), preference for novelty (Actions), intellectual curiosity (Ideas), and preference for nontraditional values (Values).”
Crystallised intelligence roughly equates to general knowledge: knowing many things about the world.
More intelligent people were particularly appreciative of beauty: they had a strong aesthetic sense.
They were also likely to be intellectually curious and to have an interest in ideas for their own sake.
These two facets of openness were most strongly linked to higher crystallised intelligence.
The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Ashton et al., 2000).
Grandiose narcissism is just one of the personality traits that’s elevated in geeks.
Grandiose narcissism is just one of the personality traits that’s elevated in geeks.
Geeks are more likely to have grandiose narcissistic self-views, a study finds.
The narcissism is accompanied by being extraverted, more open to experience and more prone to (non-clinical) depression.
The results come from a survey of 2,354 people published in the journal PloS ONE.
The study’s authors explain:
“…individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis), to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis), and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis).
Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being…”
This may be because:
“…narcissistic individuals who are unable to receive the admiration and praise to which they feel entitled (whether because of failure, or because their grandiose fantasy is impossible to live out in the real world) may turn to a fantasy world where such praise is more easily obtained.”
Of course this doesn’t explain the personality of all geeks, but it may explain a tendency within that culture.
Geekiness is also about wanting to belong, as the researchers explain:
“…geeks gain belongingness by rallying around the resources that are currently available: consumer goods and cultural artifacts.
…geeks use knowledge of geek interests (e.g., Star Trek trivia) and collections (e.g., model spaceships) as social currency.
…people who are outcast or rejected as children devote more energy to exploring solitary interests, including obscure interests, and eventually form ties to others with the same specialized interests, thereby forming a network of relationships based around previously solitary activities.”
So, what is geek culture?
“Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.).
However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members.”
The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE (McCain et al., 2015).
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is considered one of the most serious personality disorders, but it does respond to treatment.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is considered one of the most serious personality disorders, but it does respond to treatment.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is thought to affect between 1 percent and 6 percent of the population.
It is more common in women than men.
While many believe that BPD is not treatable, this is not true.
Psychotherapies and even time can both help to heal the disorder.
The most telling sign of BPD is a long history of instability in personal relationships.
This is partly caused by unstable and impulsive emotions.
At one time people with BPD can idolise someone else, and soon after they hate them.
As a result those with BPS often have very intense relationships with others.
Here are 7 other signs of borderline personality disorder to look for:
1. Intense fear of abandonment or being alone, whether real or imagined.
2. The tendency to take risks without thinking about the consequences. Especially when the results hurt the self e.g. car crashes, risky sex or substance abuse.
3. Attempting to self-harm or thinking about suicide. People with borderline personality disorder are not usually trying to kill themselves when self-harming. Rather they are expressing feelings of anger towards the self or trying to feel ‘normal’.
4. Having an unstable sense of self. People with borderline personality disorder may often feel they are different people depending on who they are with. They often describe feeling lost and empty.
5. Paranoid thoughts and zoning out. Believing in things that are not true or sometimes zoning out so that it appears the person with borderline personality disorder is not really there.
6. Feeling intense anger — possibly over relatively trivial matters — and acting out physically in response.
7. People with borderline personality disorder are often on a kind of emotional roller-coaster. Intense anxiety could give way to intense depression, then to another strong emotion. These bouts can last a few hours or even a few days.
Mental health professionals usually look for a majority of these symptoms in order to diagnose someone with borderline personality disorder (there are some slightly different systems and related diagnoses).
People with borderline personality disorder find it difficult to empathise, research finds (Haas & Miller, 2015).
Dr Brian Haas, the study’s lead author, said:
“Our results showed that people with BPD traits had reduced activity in brain regions that support empathy.
This reduced activation may suggest that people with more BPD traits have a more difficult time understanding and/or predicting how others feel, at least compared to individuals with fewer BPD traits.”
Dr Joshua Miller, who co-authored the study, said:
“Borderline personality disorder is considered one of the most severe and troubling personality disorders.
BPD can make it difficult to have successful friendships and romantic relationships.
These findings could help explain why that is.”
The psychological treatment for borderline personality disorder often involves training in regulating the emotions.
Sometimes people with borderline personality disorder are given antidepressants.
This is because they are frequently depressed or suffering with other mental problems, such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
However, the personality disorder generally improves over time even without specialised treatment (Sharp et al., 2021).
Still, early intervention in young people is the best approach.
Currently, the best treatments for borderline personality disorder are mentalisation-based therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy.
The majority of people can recover from a borderline personality disorder given time and the right treatment.
The cause of the condition is still not well understood.
However, it is likely a combination of genetic and environmental factors — as with many mental health problems.
People who experienced a trauma as children are 13 times more likely to have borderline personality disorder (Porter et al., 2019).
Physical neglect was the most common form of trauma experienced, followed by emotional abuse and sexual abuse.
The study found that 71 percent of those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder had experienced at least one childhood trauma.
Dr Filippo Varese, study co-author, said:
“During childhood and adolescence, our brain is still undergoing considerable development and we are also refining strategies to deal with the challenges of everyday life, and the negative feelings that come with them.
In some people who have experienced chronic, overwhelming stress in childhood, it is likely that these responses do not develop in the same way.
People can become more sensitive to ‘normal’ stress.
They are sometimes unable to deal with intense negative thoughts and feelings, and they might resort to dangerous or unhelpful measures to feel better, such as taking drugs or self-harming.
This can lead to various mental health difficulties, including the problems commonly seen in people who receive a diagnosis of BPD.”
→ Read on: How to change your personality
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