US LIVES UP TO ITS STEREOTYPE
By Rebecca Knight in Boston 2008-09-12Many of the cultural stereotypes of Americans – such as the neurotic New Yorker, the friendly Midwesterner and the chilled-out California dude – may have some basis in fact.
A study by researchers at Cambridge university in the UK found that the personalities of people in the US often differ according to the state in which they live.
“Obviously it's not as simple as saying that you're guaranteed to be more anxious if you live in New York,” said Jason Rentfrow, a professor in social and political sciences at Cambridge, who led the study.
“But it does mean that if you live there, statistically you are going to run into people who are more irritable and anxious which, [because of the effects of] emotional contagion, is likely to rub off on you.”
Researchers analysed the results from more than a half million online surveys – as well as data from the Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and the Bureau of Labor Statistics – to create a “personality map” of the US.
Wisconsin, for instance, had high readings for extraversion and agreeableness but low for openness, suggesting that people there are sociable and traditional. Arizona, on the other hand, ranked high on conscientiousness but low on neuroticism, signifying that people there like order and discipline but are relatively relaxed.
The research team also found that personalities are geographically clustered. For instance, “neuroticism” was highest in the east along a line stretching from Maine to Louisiana, and lowest in the west, suggesting the country has an identifiable “stress belt”.
Prof Rentfrow said that the strongest personality traits within a given population become self-reinforcing by influencing the area's culture. Where the population was creative and intellectual – as was found to be the case in New York and California – one might expect to find people who were interested in art, literature and science, he said.
This, in turn, leads to the creation of universities and museums, which then have an effect on the views and values of the local people and encourage more creative and imaginative people to move to the region.
Prof Rentfrow said his work had applications in business. Companies planning to relocate may consider the personalities of people in the region as they consider their potential pool of employees. And start-ups may want to go where “openness” is high and there are more patents produced.
一方水土养一方美国人
在人们的印象中，各地的美国人有不同的文化特征——诸如神经兮兮的纽约人、友好的中西部人和放松的加州小子。研究表明，人们的这种认识或许有一些事实依据。
英国剑桥大学(Cambridge university)的一项研究发现，美国人的性格往往随着所在州的不同而不同。
剑桥大学社会政治学教授、这项研究的负责人杰森•伦特福罗(Jason Rentfrow)表示：“这并不是说如果你住在纽约，你就肯定比别人焦虑。显然不是这么简单。”
“但从统计上来说，如果你住在那里，你就会与比较易怒、焦虑的人打交道。由于情绪感染的作用，你可能会受到影响。”
研究人员对50多万份网络调查结果以及来自人口调查局(Census Bureau)、疾病控制中心(Centers for Disease Control)和劳工统计局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)的数据进行了分析，旨在绘制一份美国“性格地图”。
例如，威斯康星州在“外向性”和“易相处”上的得分较高，但在“开放性”上的得分较低，表明当地人好交际，也比较传统。而亚利桑那州在“责任感”一项上排名靠前，在“神经质”这一项则排在后面，表明当地人喜欢秩序和纪律，但精神上相对放松。
该研究小组还发现，性格呈地理集中性。例如，东部地区（从缅因州到路易斯安那州）的人最“神经质”，而西部人最不神经质，说明美国具有一条可以辨认的“压力带”。
伦特福罗教授表示，一个地区人口最强的性格特征，通过对当地文化的影响而有自我加强的作用。在人口具有较高创造力和知识水平的地区——如纽约和加州——很容易找到对艺术、文化和科学感兴趣的人。
这进而推动大学和博物馆的成立，而后者进而又对当地人的观念及价值观产生影响，并吸引更多具有创造力和想象力的人迁来本地。
伦特福罗教授表示，他的研究成果在商业上具有实用性。企业在迁址时，基于未来选择人才的考虑，可能会顾及当地人的性格问题。而新成立的公司可能倾向于“开放性”较高、产生较多专利的地区。
译者/岱嵩
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