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Almost ten years ago, a team of researchers concluded a 75-year study of peer-rated personality traits, identifying four things shared by those who live the longest.
Some 300 engaged couples started taking part in the study in 1935 and 1938 (when they were in their mid-20s) and continued to participate until 2013, according to Business Insider’s review of the study. When they started the study, the 600 participants were asked to pick three to eight close friends to rate their personality across the 36-question E. Lowell Kelly scale.
Questions included things like: Is he physically energetic and peppy?” to more personal questions like “How does he meet his appointments?” and “Is he nervous and ‘flies off the handle’ easily?” (TAKE A POLL: Should College Education Be More Affordable For Students?)
What Did The Study Find?
Men who were seen by their friends as conscientious and open, and women who were seen as emotionally stable, and agreeable (or friendly) lived longest. Similar studies conducted in the years later found similar trends, particularly when it came to an individual being conscientious. (TAKE A POLL: Do You Think That the Current Education System Adequately Prepares Students For the Workforce?)
“Friends’ ratings were better predictors of longevity than were self-reports of personality, in part because friends’ ratings could be aggregated to provide a more reliable assessment. Our findings demonstrate the utility of observers’ reports in the study of health and provide insights concerning the pathways by which personality traits influence health,” the authors noted.
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