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Photo: Stocksy/Mauro Grigollo
If your coffee and social media habits point to less-than-coveted personality traits, how can you determine whether you fall on the other end of the spectrum? If only there was some sort of scientific study to tell you how well-adjusted and psychologically healthy you are…
Aha! New research published in the journal Journal of Personality and Social Psychology could cue you into the personality traits that are key for your mental well-being. In the first of three studies, researchers asked 137 experts in trait psychology to describe their idea of a psychologically healthy person using the 30 personality facets in the NEO Psychological Inventory, Revised (AKA a big list of defined traits that personality experts use to ensure everyone is speaking the same language). The researchers also had experts in positive psychology and undergraduate students create their own definitions of a “healthy personality.”
Across all groups, the same key traits were identified: According to the report, “healthy personality functioning can be best characterized by high levels of Openness to Feelings, Positive Emotions, and Straightforwardness, and low levels on all facets of Neuroticism.”
On a more granular level, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, names 10 specific personality traits in Scientific American:
Openness to feelings
Straightforwardness (and being “frank, sincere, and ingenuous”)
Competence
Warmth (being affectionate and friendly)
Positive emotions (experiencing “joy, happiness, love, and excitement”)
Low levels of angry hostility
Low anxiety (not being “shy, fearful, nervous, tensed, and restless”)
Low depression
Low vulnerability to stress
Low impulsivity (being able to control cravings and urges)
