US personalities vary by region, say researchers
The results are in: New Yorkers are stressed and unfriendly but intellectually inclined, while people who live in Georgia and Florida are sociable and energetic.
A group of Cambridge University researchers say they have scientifically confirmed what most people already suspected.
In a six-year study of the personalities of almost 620,000 Americans, the researchers found that character traits closely tracked the country's different regions. The research showed that Americans on the eastern seaboard were "more anxious and impulsive" while westerners were comparatively relaxed.
The researchers, led by Dr Jason Rentfrow, Cambridge lecturer in social and political sciences, identified strong correlations between personality traits and social phenomena like crime and life expectancy rates.
"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," said Rentfrow, who hails from Louisiana (where people are friendly but stressed).
"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."
In that regard, the study found that populations in places with the strongest personality traits reinforced them by influencing the state's cultural atmosphere.
For instance, New York, where the population was "creative, imaginative and intellectual", is the media and publishing capital of the US, boasts a vibrant fashion scene and is home to some of the country's pre-eminent museums.
Those institutions then attract people from outside the area, and deter people who do not share those personality traits, the researchers found.
Participants in the study answered an online questionnaire in which they were asked to read short statements, such as "I see myself as someone who is outgoing", or "I see myself as someone who is very religious," and indicate their level of agreement.
Other findings: people from Arizona, a politically conservative state, received a high ranking for "conscientiousness" but a low one on "neuroticism". Researchers said that indicated that people there "like order and discipline, but are fairly relaxed".
Some of the poorest states in the US ranked high for "neuroticism", which the researchers described as "anxious, stressful and impulsive". Those states, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia, are five of the six poorest, measured by median household income.
