Abstract
Recent investigations indicate that personality traits are unevenly distributed geographically, with some traits being more prevalent in certain places than in others. The geographical distributions of personality traits are associated with a range of important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The majority of research on this subject has focused on the geographical distributions and macro-level correlates of personality across nations or regions of the United States. The aim of the present investigation was to replicate and extend that past work by examining regional personality differences in Great Britain. Using a sample of nearly 400,000 British residents, we mapped the geographical distributions of the Big Five Personality traits across 380 Local Authority Districts and examined the associations with important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The results revealed distinct geographical clusters, with neighboring regions displaying similar personality characteristics, and robust associations with the macro-level outcome variables. Overall, the patterns of results were similar to findings from past research.
Highlights
Geography is important for understanding a variety of behavioral outcomes
To address our research questions, we examined regional variation across Local Authority Districts (LADs) in Great Britain
The correlations for Asian, Black, Mixed, and White ethnicities were .93, .92, .84, and .95, respectively. These results suggest that the LAD samples were fairly representative of the local populations
Summary
Geography is important for understanding a variety of behavioral outcomes. Research in regional economics examines the ways in which local resources, infrastructure, and amenities influence residential mobility and happiness. Research in public health investigates the impact that social and economic factors have on health and well-being. Research in certain areas of political science focus on the ways in which demographic, social, and economic factors shape public opinion and affect election returns. A common theme to emerge from all of that research is that there are strong links between the locations in which people live and their attitudes, motivations, and well-being—constructs that are central to psychology. Psychological scientists have only recently recognized the relevance of geography for understanding such important and widely studied phenomena
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