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Neurotic in New York seeks orderly in Arizona: Personality study of people in the USA by state.

Thu Sep 11, 2:03 PM ET
The personalities of people in the USA often differ according to the state in which they live, a new study led by Cambridge University has revealed.

Researchers used the results from more than half a million online surveys to create a "personality map" of the United States, showing that different types of people are more likely to live and flourish in different parts of the country.

The research team found "striking" wider geographical trends, such as a national "stress belt" dividing the more anxious and impulsive eastern USA from the comparatively relaxed west. They also identified strong links between personality traits and certain social phenomena, such as crime and life expectancy rates.

The study is the first analysis of its kind and was led by Dr Jason Rentfrow.
"Although these are preliminary findings and require more evaluation, they did throw up some striking geographical trends," Dr Rentfrow said.

"Obviously it's not as simple as saying that a person is guaranteed to be more anxious if they come from West Virginia or more religious because they happen to live in New Mexico; but we did find pretty clear signs that there are meaningful differences in the personalities of people living in different areas of the United States.

"What is particularly impressive is that the results show the effects of personality on people's social habits, values and lifestyles are so pronounced that they have an impact on much bigger social forces."
For example, where the population is creative, imaginative and intellectual (as was found to be the case in states including New York and California), one might expect to find people who are interested in art, literature and science. This may in turn lead to the establishment of institutions such as universities and museums. These institutions then influence the views and values of the local populace, encourage more creative and imaginative people to move to the region, and give people who do not fit that profile less reason to live there.

To test this theory, the research team set out to identify whether prevalent personality types were indeed reflected in the social and cultural life of each US state.

Using an established framework called the "Five Factor Model" they divided personality types into five broad categories: "Extraversion" (sociable, energetic, enthusiastic people); "Agreeableness" (warm, friendly, compassionate); "Conscientiousness" (dutiful, responsible, self-disciplined); "Neuroticism" (anxious, stressful, impulsive); and "Openness" (curious, intellectual, creative).

Over six years, 619,397 people from across the US took part in an online test in which they were asked to read 44 short statements, such as "I see myself as someone who is outgoing" and "I see myself as someone who is very religious". The respondents had to mark their level of agreement with each statement on a scale of one to five.

(cont below)Thu Sep 11, 2:03 PM ET The personalities of people in the USA often differ according to the state in which they live, a new study... more